CBS correspondent Ed O’Keefe’s October 6 interview with Republican Arizona secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem was a terrible instance of journalistic malpractice, in which O’Keefe gave Finchem a virtually unchecked platform to malign his opponent while spreading election security conspiracy theories.
Finchem has pushed the QAnon conspiracy theory, described himself as a member of the radical anti-government Oath Keepers group, and attended the January 6 insurrection. He is also part of a coalition formed by QAnon figures and election deniers aimed at recruiting and electing secretary of state candidates to take over future elections in key battleground states.
Finchem has repeatedly appeared on QAnon programs and other election denying shows, including Steve Bannon’s War Room. He has also been tied to other far-right figures like Christian nationalist Andrew Torba, a virulent antisemite and founder of the extremist platform Gab that has become a haven for white nationalists and neo-nazis.
Despite Finchem’s well-documented history of extremism, O’Keefe utterly failed to ask about his propagation of the QAnon conspiracy theory or his ties to the Oath Keepers, an organization currently under investigation for seditious conspiracy, and instead gave him a platform to promote conspiracy theories about election security.
O’Keefe opened the...
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