Fact-checking an Andy Ngô story.
Flexing my fact-checking skills and an important lesson on using neutral language.
Andy Ngô is a right-wing journalist with 1.2 million followers on Twitter and writer for the publication Post Millennial. He also wrote a book, “Unmasked,” which Kirkus Reviews says it “belongs in any QAnon subscriber’s collection.” The Los Angeles Times writer Alexander Nazaryan described the work as scrounging up some serious propaganda.
One of his big claims to fame, at least in the mainstream, is when he was attacked in Portland-Oregon with a milkshake, punches and yelling. Jim Ryan, a Portland-based reporter, caught the attack on camera. The idea of attacking a journalist for doing their job is a disgusting and awful act.
But what Ngô’s done with the fame from the attack raises an eyebrow.
Ngô makes a big deal with reporting on crimes committed by the left, specifically those who identify as nonbinary or trans, or deviate anywhere on the gender spectrum.
The problem of his reporting, unfortunately, is much of his work has to be fact checked, since an article titled “A Visit to Islamic England” came out from the Wall Street Journal and prompted a fact checking wave, including by someone who lived in the city.
So why not try and flex some fact-checking muscles?
Context
April 23rd started off as cold and cloudy. The drizzly weather moved sluggishly throughout the day, but some people thought a drag brunch with color and dance was in order. While people inside of the Fort Brewery & Pizza were getting glitz over their midday meals, three people were arrested outside after tussling with Fort Worth police.
On April 24th, Andy Ngô made a tweet claiming nonbinary antifa militants were involved in attacking peaceful protestors outside of the brewery.
Fort Brewery was hosting an event advertised on its Instagram page as a drag brunch. Ngô claims the brunch show was a “family” event, which the Eventbrite page for the brunch ad says “friends, family, and co-workers” are welcome.
“There were 2 young adults with parents at this event,” said Aaron Hoernke, marketing director for Fort Brewery & Pizza. No small children were reported to be in the brewery during the protests.
Two groups showed up for protest. The first group goes by “Protect Texas Kids.” Although the group’s politics aren’t made clear on their website, the goals they seek are based around right-wing ideas of gender-affirming care for trans youth and protecting kids from “the toxic, indoctrinating agenda of the left.”
The second group were protestors from by the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club. The John Brown Gun Club is a group of left-leaning gun advocates who have frequented LGBTQ+ events with guns, acting as counter-protestors or for protection. The three counter-protestors arrested are associated with the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club. Some extremist group watchdogs link the John Brown Gun Club as a left-leaning terrorist group.
The clash between Protect Texas Kids and the Elm Fork protestors started when Samuel Fowlkes allegedly sprayed something at one of the Protect Texas Kids protestors in the face, seemingly unprovoked. No audio was recorded through the sky camera that caught the spray attack.
Ngô said two of the three counter-protestors, Meghan Grant and Samuel Fowlkes, were nonbinary and all three were part of antifa. “Antifa” is a contraction of the term “anti-fascist” and was called a “domestic terrorist group” by former president Donald Trump and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. I reached out to the Elm Fork division of the John Brown Gun Club through their Twitter page. They did not respond for comment.
The three arrestees faced charges of allegedly resisting peace officers and assault.
The bodycam footage posted by Fort Worth Police on Twitter is shaky but shows Samuel Fowlkes approaching people from Protect Texas Kids with two other group members. None of the people seen on video besides Fowlkes have been identified.
A brief exchange happens between three people on each side. The video focuses then on Fowlkes, who reaches out and allegedly sprays something at counter protestors. The spray, while it cannot be confirmed as pepper spray or simple water mist, does not cause a severe reaction.
The sky camera then focuses on Fowlkes, who walks away from the scene and does not observe where the other two members are, although before panning away, one other member of the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club scuttles over while two step apart.
One thing to note is Ngô saying the group attacked police. They did not attack the police but did resist arrest.
Then Ngô claims the Elm Fork protestors ambushed and attacked protestors. The Fort Worth police video shows three Elm Fork protestors walking up to three Protect Texas Kids protestors. Whether the sudden attack counts as an ‘ambush’ is hard to see, but Fowlkes’s attack seemed unprovoked.
The police arrived soon after with intention to arrest Fowlkes. Fowlkes at first walks away from the Fort Worth police and then was arrested after Christopher Guillott steps in to stop the arrest. The police officers appear to lunge first at Fowlkes in the bodycam footage.
Meghan Grant was then arrested after trying to help Guillott and Fowlkes, claiming they were a medic. They approach the on-duty officers, who then shove Grant back after approaching three times before arresting them.
I reached out to Grant through Facebook. They haven’t responded. Fowlkes and Guillott haven’t made public statements.
One thing I looked at was Ngô’s posting of Grant’s Facebook page and could confirm it was the Facebook page. The Facebook page says Grant is part of “antifa.”
After being detained, all three of the club members were bailed out of the Tarrant County Jail. This was most likely due to the club raising bail for all three members through CashApp. I called the Tarrant County jail where all three members were being held, but the clerks couldn’t say who bailed them out.
I contacted Reddit through Zendesk with no luck confirming the account Ngô cites as Fowlke’s, “u/thedoomturtle124.” Searching for the username on Reddit brings up nothing.
What’s the point?
While the facts from the Ngô story seem to hold up in certain places, the problem is the language used.
Ngô says “antifa” and “trans nonbinary militants” to stoke fear and as inflammatory language. Most journalists will try and avoid inflammatory language. This helps keep journalists from hurting not only their credentials, but also from being fired on the job, or worse, taken before a court for defamation.
Ngô also has taken to appealing to politics when it comes to his work. Journalists should avoid doing this because again, it can hurt their credibility in the long run, especially if they describe themselves as objective/neutral.
Advocacy journalism is a legitimate career path for many reporters even if it does good in the world or for the cause they are passionate about. But journalists should always be clear as to where their politics are and who they advocate for.
Cheers.