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Howard Kurtz: Fox News Helped Spread ISIS 'Propaganda' By Showing Video

Howard Kurtz told Fox News that it was a bad idea to air the ISIS video showing how they murdered a Jordanian pilot.

On Tuesday Fox News' website posted the vile video showing the Jordanian pilot being burnt to death by ISIS and then later on-air displayed graphic images from the horrific ISIS video.

Fox News on Tuesday evening showed viewers an image from a video that appeared to show members of the Islamic State extremist group burning a captured Jordanian pilot alive. Host Brett Baier warned viewers about the graphic content before the network aired the photos."The images are brutal. They are graphic. They are upsetting. You may want to turn away. You may want to have the children leave the room right now," he told viewers.

This caused quite a stir around the country since Fox News is alway complaining that networks should never spread terrorist propaganda - which is sound advice.

Fox News' media critic Howard Kurtz went on The Kelly FIle and explained why it was a bad idea by his network to have shown those images.

Kelly: Fox News made a decision today that garnered a lot of attention. Our channel's website FoxNews.com decided to post the video made by ISIS, which showed a Jordanian pilot, the one I jst mentioned, captured by the Islamic state being burned alive...but there is a debate over the way you cover a group like ISIS

KURTZ: Megyn, I see the arguments on both sides. I understand the case that we ought to show the pure evil that is ISIS, and I thought our colleague Bret Baier handled it judiciously by just showing a couple of still images. But I disagree with the Fox decision and here's why. ISIS -- I fear that many of the us in the media are helping ISIS spread its propaganda, using its fear tactics.

And I felt the same way with the beheading video, still images of which became almost like wallpaper for every story about ISIS. And when that tactic became so familiar, these terrorists, these butchers, went to the even more sick and depraved and barbaric method of burning a man to death. And I just have a concern that we are helping spread the fear that ISIS so badly wants to spread.

Kelly didn't go out of her way to defend Fox News over this incident, but defended showing stills of the incident as did several other networks.

Unfortunately there have been too many horrible videos posted all over the Internet by terrorists alike that show graphic murders and beheadings so why suddenly did Fox News decide to air this one with ISIS?

I believe they are trying to drum up the mood for more war in America. They want to send our troops into battle once again and the only way they feel they can do this is to show graphic images and murder videos to inflame their viewers.

Please, stop the madness.

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