This Midtown protest gave a new definition to the term “media circus.”
The advocacy group Extinction Rebellion NYC donned outlandish makeup and large red noses during what they dubbed as a satirical protest outside Fox News Channel’s studios on Wednesday night, highlighting what they state is a slew of misinformation campaigns perpetrated by the conservative news network.
Dressing up as caricatures of famous anchors such as “Sean Hilarity,” “Tucker Clownson,” and “Laura Incorrect,” the band of jesters put on a show of their own outside the Fox News building at 1211 Avenue of the Americas — much to the chagrin of the news corporation’s security guards who swatted away anyone who ventured too close.
In place of a more traditional demonstration, the clowns strived to showcase the lies and fear mongering they believe the news giant bolsters by partaking in games and live music.
Protesters danced to anti-establishment songs from Resistance Company before the group used a large picture frame as a makeshift television from where they played “Tucker says,” a take on Simon says where the crowd recited every command of the red-faced prankster.
In all seriousness, the protesters said, they were fed up with the network’s broadcasts which, they say, seek to divide Americans rather than offer constructive analysis or accurate reporting.
“We are here to raise awareness about the brainwashing that happens and how we are all caught up in it,” Mahayana Landowne from NYC Rebellion told amNewYork Metro. “It’s breaking us apart and we really want to wake people up and we feel that people get caught into following and we want to open that up, so we are showing clown metaphors.”
Demonstrators say they had hoped to underscore the way in which misinformation has divided the country during a time when unity is needed the most. Landowne stated that they don’t want to “put anyone down,” but rather playfully show the world how misguided information leads to issues within the country by keeping viewers fearful.
Landown went on to say that much of this division had been felt during the Trump administration, and although he’s no longer in power, it appeared that Fox News anchors were continuing to advance the former president’s agenda.
“We are struck by how so many people are caught up in lies that they do not understand as truth. We are trying to break that open,” Landowne said.
amNewYork Metro reached out to Fox News for comment.
