I am not in the habit of watching the Fox News Channel, except when investigating what the network is up to in terms of news coverage and commentary.

Earlier this week, on Tuesday, March 30, I tuned into "Tucker Carlson Tonight," which, according to Nielsen Global Media's latest report, registered the largest viewership of any prime-time program, averaging an audience of 3.4 million for the quarter.

Prompted by the release earlier that day of a report by a World Health Organization team of scientists on the possible origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tucker Carlson dedicated the lion's share of the program to the subject.

The WHO report examined four possible scenarios on how the virus spread to humans: No. 1: Direct transmission from bats.

No. 2: Transmission from an "intermediate (animal) host" who received the virus from a bat.

No. 3: Contagion through the food chain.

No. 4: Accidental escape from a research lab in Wuhan, China.

While none of the theories was dismissed, the report leaned toward the first two explanations and stated that the lab leak option was an "extremely unlikely pathway."

By most accounts, including those of scientists, journalists and government officials, the report is incomplete and lacking in transparency. Its authors were the first to recognize the need for further research. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki criticized it for its lack of "crucial data, information and access."

China, as expected, does not only reject the idea that the COVID-19 virus was intentionally manufactured in Wuhan, but Chinese officials have also been floating the notion that it actually originated in the United States. A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the preposterous suggestion that the U.S. Army brought it to Wuhan.

After showing footage of an interview of Dr. Peter Daszak, a zoologist and the only U.S.-based scientist joining the WHO team that investigated the origins of the pandemic, Carlson summoned his own "expert" on the subject, Bill Gertz from the Washington Times, who is neither a scientist nor a journalist of science. He may not be the best source — certainly neither fair nor balanced — to speak on things China, given his acknowledgement of having received large sums of money from a financier associated with controversial Chinese exile billionaire Guo Wengui. Gertz, who covered Guo for the Washington Free Beacon, described the payment as an "advance" for the publication of his highly critical book "Deceiving the Sky: Inside Communist China's Drive for Global Supremacy."

Gertz is convinced that China created the virus and started the pandemic. He also claimed that China had "ethnic weapons," biological weapons that can target ethnic groups.

Per usual, Carlson used the occasion to attack his archenemies in the mainstream media. Pivoting from the virus story to its coverage by CNN, MSNBC and other news organizations, he accused his colleagues of "dutifully" repeating claims by scientists and others that the COVID-19 virus could not have been manufactured in a Chinese lab. His assertion, however, rests on a false premise, as the WHO report does not dismiss the possibility of a lab escape.

Carlson proceeded to use half-truths and out-of-context quotes to build his case against NPR and National Geographic, two organizations with well-deserved reputations for integrity and intellectual honesty. To demonstrate that NPR has uncritically embraced and is irresponsibly disseminating one of the animal-origin theories, he puts up on the screen a quote from an NPR story from January 2020 that reads, "A 'wet market' in Wuhan, China, is catching the blame as the probable source of the current coronavirus outbreak." But the quote itself includes the qualifier "probable source."

Likewise with another quote from a National Geographic story. On the screen, it reads "'Wet markets' likely launched the coronavirus," but Carlson does not even bother to read the quote correctly, leaving out the word "likely."

Carlson and other dishonest journalists are counting not only on our ignorance but also on our incapacity to read and listen carefully and critically.

I close with the admonition: Read! Think! Disappoint them!

Readers can reach Luis Martinez-Fernandez at [email protected]. To find out more about Luis Martinez-Fernandez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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Photo credit: nastya_gepp at Pixabay