While spotlighting a $30-million federal grant program overseen by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Free Beacon zeroed in on the inclusion of “smoking kits/supplies” in the grant. It all started with a breathlessly hyped report from the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news outlet. Yet even after the White House said on Wednesday afternoon that it was “inaccurate” to claim the administration was distributing crack pipes, Fox News continued to obsessively cover the faux-scandal throughout its programming.
Following a Fox News-fueled outrage over misinformation that the president was handing out free crack pipes in the name of “racial equity,” the Biden administration seemingly caved to GOP pressure this week by reassuring the public that a grant program to reduce harm among illicit drug users wouldn’t include funding for pipes.