In the flourishing world of baseless conspiracy theories, this one, part hoax, part smear, has been having its moment.
Conservative commentator Ann Coulter on Sunday became the latest figure to spread a similar claim, as a guest on a Fox News show, when she charged that some of the migrant children who have been photographed in varying stages of distress were “child actors,” in a bit of messaging she directed at President Trump.
“These child actors weeping and crying on all the other networks 24/7 right now; do not fall for it, Mr. President,” she said, staring directly into the camera. “I get very nervous about the president getting his news from TV.”
Ann Coulter on Fox News calls crying immigrant children "child actors" and looks directly into the camera to warn Trump not to fall for it. pic.twitter.com/SIjrocmxKB
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) June 18, 2018
The separation of children from their parents, a result of a new hard-line immigration enforcement practice rolled out by the Trump administration in recent months, has become a lightning rod political issue, an emotional wedge that has cut across partisan lines in the midst of the national debate about immigration. Supporters of the president have defended the practice, blaming parents for bringing their children across the border and arguing that the children are well cared for once they are taken away. The president has blamed Democrats, though the practice is a result of changes made by his appointees.
Though many Trump supporters have defended the practice, until now no high-profile figures had questioned the authenticity of the children’s experiences.
Instead, more information about the separations — 2,300 children have been taken from their parents since the beginning of May, around the time the new “zero tolerance” policy was rolled out — has trickled out in recent days, in the form of reporters’ visits to the detention centers where the children are held, pictures and even leaked audio. A photograph by Getty Images’ John Moore of a 2-year-old crying as her mother was patted down by a border agent before the two were separated ricocheted around the media-sphere over the weekend, becoming a stand-in for what some see as the abject cruelty of the new practice.
Moore, who has been photographing the border for 10 years after stints covering war zones overseas, told The Washington Post about how he took the photo, after watching a group of migrants cross the border in boats before being apprehended by agents.
Coulter’s remarks went unquestioned by Fox News host Steve Hilton, on whose show she appeared. He did try to move the conversation forward as a break in the show approached.
“I don’t know if that’s …” he said, trailing off as Coulter continued. “I told you we wouldn’t get a word in,” he said to the two other guests, Republican former congressman Jason E. Chaffetz and Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle.
But Coulter continued.
“These kids are being coached,” she said. “They’re given scripts to read by liberals. . . . Don’t fall for the actor children.”
She said her information came from New Yorker magazine, though it was not immediately clear which report she was referring to.
Over a series of emails with The Post, Coulter did not provide evidence for her claim.
“If they were genuine asylees, they’d have stopped in Mexico,” she said. “They’d go to Guatemala or Colombia. No, they’re being marched to the U.S. as a political weapon.”
In a statement provided by a Fox News spokeswoman, Hilton said: “I do not endorse her comments or anything else said by anyone other than myself.”
Paul Farhi contributed to this report.
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