Fox News host sorry for false report of Obama funding Muslim museum

Fox News host Anna Kooiman has apologized for falsely reporting that President Obama would personally pay to keep the International Museum of Muslim Cultures open during the government shutdown.

The “oops” moment occurred Saturday on “Fox and Friends Weekend” during a conversation among Kooiman, Tucker Carlson and Clayton Morris about the controversial decision to temporarily close the World War II Memorial -- along with many other parks, monuments and museums -- due to the ongoing budget impasse.

“President Obama has offered to pay out of his own pocket for the museum of Muslim culture,” Kooiman claimed, contrasting his (supposed) decision with that of the Republican National Committee, which has offered to pay to keep the World War II Memorial open using its own coffers.

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“It really doesn’t seem fair,” she said.

Perhaps, but it’s also not true: The false claim appears to have originated from a story published by the National Report, which has been described as a satirical news website but seems more about spreading misinformation than social critiques. (Judging from the comments on the original article, Kooiman was far from the only person to take the bait.)

Kooiman acknowledged the error, albeit somewhat indirectly, via her Twitter account Sunday. “Just met w producers- I made a mistake yday after receiving flawed research abt a museum possibly closing. My apologies. Won’t happen again,” she wrote. (She did not indicate exactly what the “flawed research” was, nor did she specifically retract the claim about Obama.)

The error has not yet been corrected on air, but will be addressed on the next broadcast of “Fox and Friends Weekend,” according to a representative of the network.

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Twitter: @MeredithBlake