Netizens have hit out at Fox News host John Roberts over his now-deleted tweet, which apparently questioned the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in light of the death of ex-US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
In a Monday post, Roberts argued that "the fact that Colin Powell died from a breakthrough COVID infection raises new concerns about how effective vaccines are long-term".
Fox News reporter John Roberts waits for the arrival of White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders to speak before a briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC on January 28, 2019
© AFP 2023 / MANDEL NGAN
Twitter users were immediately there, accusing the Fox News anchor of misinformation and recalling Powell's protracted fight with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood cells, something that most likely compromised his immune system.
"Stop pushing misinformation!", one netizen wrote, while another user slammed Roberts' tweet as "criminal gaslighting".
According to a separate tweet, "Colin Powell had literally every susceptibility. This has nothing to do with the vaccine. Not at all".
Roberts has, meanwhile, posted a series of fresh tweets to explain that he deleted his post about "the tragic death of Colin Powell because many people interpreted it as anti-vax. It was not".
"I was excited to get vaccinated, hoping it would help speed a return to 'normal life'. […] Yes, Powell had myeloma, but I was still stunned to hear of his passing from COVID", the Fox News host added.
Users, however, remained sceptical about Roberts' remarks, with one netizen tweeting that "many people interpreted it as anti-vax because your tweet was designed to be anti-vax".
"You didn't misspeak, there was a pretty deliberate and clear narrative your tweet asserted. Your explanation is unsatisfactory and you should feel bad", the netizen underscored.