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#FireChrisHayes Trends as MSNBC Anchor Attacked for Covering Biden Accuser Story

MSNBC host Chris Hayes is being attacked for reporting on a news story about Joe Biden. (Image: screenshot/Twitter)

#FireChrisHayes Trends as MSNBC Anchor Attacked for Covering Biden Accuser Story

Journalist Glenn Greenwald said the reaction to Hayes reporting on a news story which reflects poorly on the former vice president "shows what MSNBC has cultivated."

The hashtag #FireChrisHayes was trending on Twitter Thursday as the MSNBC anchor came under attack from liberals for airing a hard news report Wednesday night on allegations from former Senate staffer Tara Reade that former Vice President Joe Biden--the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee--sexually assaulted her in the Capitol building in 1993.

"The fact that 'firing' Chris Hayes is trending because he said the media needed to cover allegations of sexual misconduct made by a women even when they're directed at powerful people who are respected is...just....peak 2020," tweeted Lindsey Boylan, a progressive candidate for Congress in New York's 10th District.

In his report on the allegation, Hayes went through the facts and soberly presented the case both for and against the allegation. The measured analysis provoked ire from Democrat-aligned critics like conspiracy theorist Bill Palmer, who demanded MSNBC remove the longtime "All In" host for reporting the news.

The network at press time did not have the segment available for viewing on either its main site or on its YouTube channel.

As Common Dreams reported, the Reade scandal has prompted calls from Democrats for Biden to address the allegation. But the candidate himself has thus far remained silent, though his campaign has repeatedly denied the charges.

Progressives on Twitter Thursday pushed back against the attacks on Hayes.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald pointed out out that Hayes' own network was at least in part to blame for the partisan fire directed at the host.

"Chris Hayes has been one of the media's most virulent, relentless and arguably effective Trump critics--an all-consuming loathing for the president--but #FireChrisHayes was trending because he covered the sex assault allegations against Biden," tweeted Greenwald. "Shows what MSNBC has cultivated."

"Also, with this completely deranged backlash against Chris Hayes for the crime of covering what a news story--one that just happens to be unfavorable to Dems--you see the extreme career incentives for cable hosts never to tell their audiences anything they don't want to hear," Greenwald added.

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