Fox News Gives Trump Election Denier Rachel Campos Duffy Huge Boost With Fox Noticias Launch

This week, Fox News announced that it will launch a Spanish-language news program called Fox Noticias . Designed to spotlight issues affecting Latinos, the show will be hosted by Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy and air on Fox Deportes. In a statement, Campos-Duffy said , “The Hispanic American community is thriving, and I am proud to bring a new show that breaks down the news of the day with a focus on the kitchen table issues that matter most to our community.”

While the idea of Fox News broadening its audience to include Spanish speakers may sound promising, this new venture is, at best, misguided and, at worst, deeply cynical. Campos-Duffy has a well-documented history of promoting conspiracy theories, bigotry , and falsehoods . At a time when election disinformation is a problem in the Latino community, it is irresponsible for Fox News to hand her a new platform to report on current events.

Campos-Duffy came to prominence on reality TV, on MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco in 1994. She later became a conservative activist and joined Fox News as a contributor in 2016. She was named a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend in 2021.

Sadly, Campos-Duffy has often squandered the potential that comes with being a high-profile Latina in broadcasting. She falsely claimed that Chinese bio-weapons labs were found in California. She has leaned into racist tropes about migrants and crime (an association not supported by data), saying, “Hundreds of thousands of illegals are still breaking into our country, and illegal alien criminals are raping and murdering our women and children.” She j oked on-air about the violent attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And all these statements are from 2024 alone.

Some of Campos-Duffy’s TV commentary can come across as rants, like in 2021 when she lashed out at Sesame Street for teaching children about vaccines, which she called “propaganda” and “so creepy.” Or when, in a 2023 segment about Pope Francis allowing blessings for same-sex couples, she asked viewers, “Could a lesbian Virgin Mary be coming to a church near you?”

Many of Campos-Duffy’s other ideas, like backing former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen, comparing abortion to slavery , or accusing the Catholic Church of “getting rich” from humanitarian aid at the border, are no joking matter. After she attacked First Lady Dr. Jill Biden for letting her husband run for president, the White House took the unusual step of asking Campos-Duffy to apologize for her comments.

Whether Campos-Duffy sees herself as a journalist or a commentator, her willingness to embrace divisive rhetoric is disturbing. It is also potentially harmful. Studies have shown that Spanish-language dominant Latinos are vulnerable to misinformation exposure and campaigns. This has been a huge, ongoing issue in our communities, due in part to a lack of fact-checking and monitoring in Spanish-language media. But starting Tuesday, Campos-Duffy will be on Fox Deportes every weekday, just before a close presidential contest in which Latino voters could play a critical role.

It’s not even a sure thing that Campos-Duffy and her views will connect with the audience on Fox Deportes. Consider that she described the overturning of Roe v. Wade as “a wonderful victory” and called health clinics that provide abortions “butcher shops” and “profit centers.” In contrast, multiple polls report that the majority of Latinos believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Although it might seem like a good idea for Fox News to try and reach beyond its traditional audience, Latinos do not need someone on TV railing en español about “illegals” or wildly asserting that the Obamas are “pretty much running” the Biden administration.” As journalist Adrian Carrasquillo pointed out on Twitter/X, in March Fox News aired a segment about how “Latinos con Biden-Harris” amounted to pandering to Latinos; it’s hard not to see Campos-Duffy’s new show through this same lens.

Fox News could’ve hired any qualified bilingual journalist – from within its own ranks, from one of its affiliates, or from outside the company – to host its Deportes news show. That they chose to amplify a reckless , partisan voice like Campos-Duffy shows that they are instead staying true to their brand.

Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and contributor to NBC Latino and CNN Opinion. Follow him on X: @RaulAReyes, IG: @raulareyes1.