Sunny with a chance of conspiracy: Fox TV reporter hijacks live broadcast
A local Fox television reporter hijacked a live broadcast on Monday to accuse her corporate bosses of “muzzling” her, before claiming she had handed over information on her colleagues to a rightwing, conspiracy-minded organization.
Ivory Hecker, a reporter with Houston’s Fox News affiliate, Fox 26, was supposed to be discussing the impact of recent hot weather in the city, but instead made vague claims of suppression by Fox and revealed what seemed to be the existence of secret recordings of her co-workers.
A presenter in Fox 26’s studio appeared to have been discussing the inclemently hot weather before throwing to Hecker to report on power outages.
Hecker had other ideas, however. “Before we get to that story, I want to let you, the viewers, know that Fox Corp has been muzzling me to keep certain information from you, the viewers,” Hecker said.
“And from what I’m gathering, I am not the only reporter being subjected to this.”
Hecker added:
“I am going to be releasing some recordings about what goes on behind the scenes at Fox, because it applies to you, the viewers.
“I found a non-profit journalism group called Project Veritas that is going to help put that out tomorrow, so tune in then.”
Project Veritas is a rightwing nonprofit organization which attempts to discredit Democrats and mainstream media organizations, frequently through the use of sting operations.
In 2017 the group attempted to dupe Washington Post reporters into publishing a fake story about the Roy Moore, the shamed Republican senatorial candidate in Alabama, but Project Veritas was embarrassed when the Post instead exposed the group’s attempted scam.
There was no sign of anything relating to Fox 26, or to Hecker, on Project Veritas’s website on Tuesday morning. A Project Veritas spokesperson told Insider that Hecker will be interviewed by the group on Tuesday night. Fox 26 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Viewers who were more concerned about Houston’s soaring temperatures than Hecker’s apparent war with her employer were not disappointed.
Once she had made her startling accusations, Hecker turned to a man in a pink shirt who had been tinkering with an electrical appliance behind her.
“As for this weather across Texas, you can see what it’s doing to AC units,” Hecker said brightly, as she seamlessly continued her report on the heatwave.