This Teachers Union Leader Told Fox News How to Get Kids Back to School: “We Have to Stop the Misinformation.”

Screenshot/Fox News

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

On Monday, the President of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, appeared on Fox News to talk about plans for school reopening.

Appearing on The Story With Martha McCallum for an exclusive interview, Weingarten was asked when schools could move to teaching in person fully. She said Fox News could help: It needed to join with public health officials and combat misinformation about the vaccines.

“I would hope that Fox says to all these people that don’t want the vaccines, that think there’s a problem, ‘Why don’t you and I do things together to get our kids back to school?'” Weingarten said. “We have to stop the misinformation.”

When McCallum asked about the introduction of the 1619 Project—New York Times series on the history and legacy of slavery in the United States—into the classrooms, the former social studies teacher didn’t miss a beat: “I would hope that Fox would be just as focused on let’s get rid of the misinformation about what happened in this election.”

“Oh come on, Randi,” McCallum responded. “I’m not gonna talk about that.”

But Weingarten held her ground while the Fox News host continued to try to bait her. “If you’re really talking about misinformation now, Martha, and I hope you are,” she continued. “I really would hope that Fox would really look at what happened in this election and how we can—because every social studies teacher is wrestling with this—discern fact from fiction, we have to do that.”

Keep us relentless, independent, and free to read.

For 50 years, Mother Jones has offered honest, investigative reporting you can rely on:

    • Relentless in the pursuit of truth, unafraid to hold the powerful to account

    • Independent from influence or agenda from oligarchs and corporations

    • Freely accessible to every reader, never behind a paywall

But we can’t do any of this without you. Reader support powers our newsroom to stay nimble and fearless, ready for whatever story comes next. If you can, make a donation today.

Keep us relentless, independent, and free to read.

For 50 years, Mother Jones has offered honest, investigative reporting you can rely on:

    • Relentless in the pursuit of truth, unafraid to hold the powerful to account

    • Independent from influence or agenda from oligarchs and corporations

    • Freely accessible to every reader, never behind a paywall

But we can’t do any of this without you. Reader support powers our newsroom to stay nimble and fearless, ready for whatever story comes next. If you can, make a donation today.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate