Updated, 8:41amPT, January 18th, 2015
On “Justice with Jeanine” Saturday, Jeanine Pirro apologized for Emereson’s erroneous statement.
“Last week on this program, a guest made a serious, factual error that we wrongly let stand unchallenged and uncorrected,” Pirro said. “The guest asserted that the city of Birmingham, England is totally Muslim, and it is a place where non-Muslims don’t go. Both are incorrect.”
Pirro noted her team found no credible evidence to support the claim that Birmingham is a supposed “no-go” zone for non-Muslims.
“We deeply regret these errors and apologize to the people of Birmingham, our viewers, and all who’ve been offended.”
Watch Pirro’s apology below.
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A Fox News segment about the Charlie Hebdo and subsequent attacks sparked a social media hashtag that has been a top trender on Twitter for two days.
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#foxnewsfacts has been going strong following a Saturday segment where the network’s Jeanine Pirro interviewed a terrorism expert on supposed “no-go zones” where only Muslims live in France and other countries.
“In Britain, it’s not just no-go zones, there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim where non-Muslims just simply don’t go in,” executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, Steve Emerson, said on Fox News’ “Justice with Judge Jeanine.”
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“You know what it sounds like to me Steve?” Jeanine Pirro said. “It sounds like a caliphate within a particular country.”
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What ensued after was an all-out satirical social media assault on Fox News.
Terrifying photo of how a typical Muslim from Birmingham guards the city gates against infidels. #foxnewsfacts pic.twitter.com/w1TJt93VEi
— Pavilion Opinions (@pavilionopinion) January 11, 2015
Armed Muslim women seize control of Birmingham streets… #foxnewsfacts pic.twitter.com/0gcLcHAYs6
— David Broadfield (@David_Link2) January 12, 2015
A Muslim pissed of Queen during interview by telling her to do good deeds at this age. #FoxNewsFacts pic.twitter.com/1ri4gkV7y3
— Ali Qasim (@aliqasim) January 12, 2015
All post boxes in #Birmingham have been forced to wear red burqas. #foxnewsfacts pic.twitter.com/gUaPMs23ZR
— Matthew Ward (@HistoryNeedsYou) January 12, 2015
Emerson has since apologized, issuing this statement to The Telegraph:
You may quote me on this as I will be posting this and taking out an ad in a Birmingham paper. I have clearly made a terrible error for which I am deeply sorry. My comments about Birmingham were totally in error. And I am issuing an apology and correction on my website immediately for having made this comment about the beautiful city of Birmingham. I do not intend to justify or mitigate my mistake by stating that I had relied on other sources because I should have been much more careful. There was no excuse for making this mistake and I owe an apology to every resident of Birmingham. I am not going to make any excuses. I made an inexcusable error. And I am obligated to openly acknowledge that mistake.
Steve
PS. I intend to make a donation to a Birmingham charity.
Watch the segment that sparked the social scorn below.