Fox News Mistakes Monty Python Quote On Reddit As Reports Of Infighting At Seattle’s CHAZ

On Friday, Fox News covered Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) during a segment of the network’s show The Story where they discussed alleged reports of infighting among some of the Black Lives Matter protesters in the camp and mistook an iconic quote from the film Monty Python & The Holy Grail as evidence of this discord.

During the segment, host Martha MacCallum reported that there were problems between leaders at CHAZ and showed a since-deleted Reddit post on the r/CapHillAutonomousZone subreddit that read, “I didn't vote for Raz. I thought we were an autonomous collective?”

MacCallum presumed that the post referenced rapper Raz Simone, who has been identified as an unofficial leader of the camp recently, despite his denial of these claims. About the post, which appeared as a screenshot, MacCallum suggested that it showed “… infighting among some of the occupiers and some signs of rebellion against Raz Simone.”

The Reddit post quoted by Fox actually comes directly from The Holy Grail, almost word-for-word, during a scene in the film where King Arthur and Dennis (the peasant) get into an argument about the country’s political system. When Arthur announces himself as their king, Dennis informs him that they’ve established their own government and utters several of the lines used in the post exactly as it’s seen.

Shortly after the segment aired on Fox, social media users began posting clips from The Story and pointed out that it was a joke, rather than evidence of infighting among protestors. Twitter user jbillinson, social media strategist for BuzzFeed News, tweeted a capture of the post appearing on Fox alongside his caption, “Fox News fell for a Monty Python joke on Reddit lmao.”

Earlier today, John Cleese, a member of Monty Python and a writer and star in the film, mocked Fox News after word reached him about the quote being used by Martha MacCallum on-air. In a Twitter post, Cleese said, “BREAKING: No one @FoxNews has ever seen @montypython & The Holy Grail. #runit #goodjournalism #factchecking,” while sharing the clip to his feed.

BREAKING: No one FoxNews</a> has ever seen <a href="https://twitter.com/montypython?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">montypython & The Holy Grail. 😂 #runit #goodjournalism #factchecking pic.twitter.com/46sKRh4qQi

— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) June 15, 2020