Bay Area activist impersonating CEO trolls Fox News host for entire segment
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Maria Bartiromo during the debut of her Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo program Feb. 24, 2014, on the Fox Business Network.Richard Drew/Associated Press
The CEO of Smithfield Food made it six minutes on Fox News before host Maria Bartiromo ended the segment.
The man, it was clear two minutes into the piece, was not the CEO of a meat company. He was Matt Johnson, an animal rights activist with the Berkeley group Direct Action Everywhere.
The segment was supposed to cover Smithfield Food s response to the coronavirus vaccine; food-processing plants have had many high-profile outbreaks over the course of the pandemic. Things started off smoothly, with Johnson, pretending to be Smithfield Food CEO Dennis Organ, giving stock answers to Bartiromo s question about the availability of a vaccine for his plant workers.
Fox News Anchor Tricked By Activist Pretending To Be A CEO
KEY POINTS
Maria Bartiromo spent over six minutes Wednesday interviewing an animal rights activist pretending to be the CEO of Smithfield Foods
Matt Johnson, an activist with Direct Action Everywhere, told viewers that meat farms pose grave risks to the public and environment
Bartiromo was already under fire for not questioning guests like President Trump when they came on the show to share conspiracy theories
It was a rough Wednesday for Fox Business News host Maria Bartiromo.
First, the Washington Post published a detailed report of how Bartiromo has failed to challenge President Trump s unfounded assertions and controversial comments, potentially damaging her credibility as a business news journalist.
Trump, inset, tweeted Thursday: They are trying to shame her into not telling the truth. His comments came after activist Matt Johnson, left, posed as Smithfield Foods CEO. Maria is right.
WATCH: What happened to Maria Bartiromo? Fox News host pranked by fake Smithfield CEO!
What happened to Maria Bartiromo? Ashton Kutcher was nowhere to be seen but she still got Punk’d live on air. See the moment the Fox News host got duped by an animal rights activist here.
A national morning news show is perhaps the last place you’d expect to fall victim to a case of mistaken identity, but that’s exactly what happened on Fox News on December 23
rd.
Maria Bartimo was hosting her morning show Mornings With Morning as normal, which was featuring a segment on Smithfield Food and how it’s been enforcing Covid-19 precautions.