The local Fox station Fox 31, KDVR, broadcast a report last Saturday night about a gun manufacturer who was detained for questioning by Adams County Sheriff officers. The story turns out to have been a hoax, according the the NBC affiliate with their report. The 9News website says that the Fox reporter is standing by the story. However, that story cannot be found on their website (at least I can't find it) and
The gun company, the Adams County Sheriff's Office, Taxis on Patrol and the Colorado Gun Collectors Association all claim the reported incident never happened.
For a few more details, click the link or jump the shark / orange squiggle
This really appears to be a case where the Fox reporter didn't practice basic Journalism 101 - check sources. From the list of people who have denied it, to the journalism practiced by the reporter at 9News, this looks like someone played Fox bigtime. The 9News reporter starts off the piece by saying that they don't usually like to fact check other stations, but here there was no question that Fox broadcast a hoax, not just made a mistake.
This is a story that Fox would jump on with both feet - a gun company executive who was associated in some manner with a gun show occurring in the Denver area was wrongly flagged as a terrorist by a cab driver causing him to be interrogated by Sheriff officers, and some lawyer contributed to the story.
Only, everyone who might be authoritative on this says that they have never heard of it anywhere but this report. The arms manufacturer named used to be headed by Daniele Perazzi, and the story claimed that it was his grandson of the same name who was detained. Well, Daniele died last year, and his son has a different name, there is no grandson and the son wasn't even in the country. The lawyer was tracked down by 9News only to find out that she wasn't even a lawyer and when asked what happened, essentially hung up on the 9News reporter.
I don't have more to add, here, other than to say the Fox reporter was handed a really juicy story that pushed all the buttons of their audience. Guns, overbearing police, unlawful detention, 2nd Amendment, foreigners, and the Fox reporter broadcast this, which apparently went viral.
I've not known the Fox station to be anything other than just another local station, and I don't watch their news, but after this, I will really doubt their accuracy on everything.