Bill O'Reilly is now threatening reporters who question his war stories


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Fox News star Bill O'Reilly may or may not have a "Brian Williams problem," as Mother Jones asserts in an article questioning O'Reilly's heroic tales while covering the Falkland Islands war for CBS News. But he certainly isn't handling the accusations like Williams did.
Whereas Williams apologized for, he says, remembering his Iraq War helicopter ride incorrectly, O'Reilly told a New York Times reporter on Monday that if he deemed any of the reporter's coverage of his Falkland War stories unfair, "I am coming after you with everything I have," write Emily Steel and Ravi Somaiya in The Times. "You can take it as a threat," O'Reilly added.
The dispute now centers around whether Buenos Aires — 1,200 miles from the Falklands — was an active war zone, as O'Reilly has contended through the years in books and interviews. (Mother Jones also posted video where O'Reilly seems to suggest he was on the Falkland Islands.) O'Reilly's former CBS News colleagues and other news organizations' reporters in Argentina at the time say that no, there were protests in Buenos Aires but they weren't very violent. And there is no record of any civilians killed by government forces, as O'Reilly says he witnessed.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fox News is standing solidly behind O'Reilly. And seeing as how Williams' apology ended — six month suspension without pay, at the least — maybe O'Reilly's counteroffensive will be more effective. Still, threatening reporters only adds fuel to a simmering fire.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.
-
China: a superpower’s slump
The Explainer After 40 years of explosive growth, China’s economy is now in deep distress — with no turnaround in sight
By The Week Staff Published
-
Retirees’ biggest surprise expense
Feature And more of the week's best financial insight
By The Week Staff Published
-
The United Auto Workers’ strike has put Democrats in a bind
Feature President Biden will have to pick a side in the dispute
By The Week Staff Published
-
Rishi Sunak lambasts China after allegations of spy in UK Parliament
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge denies Mark Meadows' request to move Georgia case to federal court
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson dies at 75
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Clarence Thomas officially discloses trips from billionaire GOP donor
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Judge schedules Trump federal election plot trial for crowded March 2024
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Trump surrenders in Georgia election subversion case
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin ally-turned-rival, presumed dead in plane crash
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Mar-a-Lago IT director flipped on Trump after dropping Trump-linked lawyer, special counsel says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published