- Fox News created and shared a graphic showing gains in the S&P 500 following the deaths of high-profile black men in the US.
- Democratic Rep. Bobby L. Rush said the graphic was “outrageous and disgusting” and “makes it clear that @FoxNews does not care about black lives.”
- Fox News pointed to gains following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, after the police shooting of teenager Michael Brown, when the police that beat Rodney King were acquitted, and after the recent death of George Floyd.
- Stocks often rise in times of upheaval and uncertainty, and they did so during the height of US coronavirus unemployment.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
A Congressman slammed Fox News for creating and airing a graphic highlighting how stocks have risen after the high-profile deaths of black men in the US.
Rep. Bobby L. Rush, a Democrat in Illinois, tweeted late on Friday that the graphic “makes it clear that @FoxNews does not care about black lives.”
“This is absolutely outrageous and disgusting. This graphic tells every single @FoxNews viewer that Black lives can be exchanged for market gain.”
—Bobby L. Rush (@RepBobbyRush) June 6, 2020
It claimed that the S&P 500, which tracks the performance of the biggest companies in the US, had improved in performance after civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.
It also claimed it did so after police officers were filmed beating activist Rodney King were acquitted in 1992, and when the unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot dead by police in 2014.
It also pointed to gains following the death of George Floyd on May 25. Floyd was killed after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes while taking him into custody.
Hundreds of demonstrators march toward Lafayette Park and the White House to protest against police brutality and the death of George Floyd, on June 2, 2020 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
“Please, please, please, I can’t breathe,” Floyd can be heard saying in a video of the moment. “Don’t kill me.”
Floyd’s death has sparked protests across the country, renewing calls to end police brutality and tackle wider racism.
The graphic was shown during Fox News’ news coverage, rather than one of its commentary shows.
The graphic shows “percentage change” one week after the event.
“Historically, there has been a disconnect between what investors focus on and what happens across the rest of the country,” the reporter said, before pointing to the gains made after the other black men were killed.
The improvement in stock performance during a time of major upheaval is not unusual. The Wall Street Journal reported that the 4.9% rise in the week leading up to June 5, which was dominated by intense protests, is “typical” during times of unrest and uncertainty.
Rep. Bobby Rush on Capitol Hill in Washington in February 2017. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Business Insider’s Henry Blodget previously reported that stocks could go up during such times, as they did as record unemployment intensified in May during the coronavirus pandemic, as “stock prices generally reflect investors’ assessments about the future, not the past.”
