Sean Hannity Says "I Don't Vet Information on This Program," Twitter Goes Wild

Sean Hannity of Fox News apparently doesn't know what it means to "vet" information.

"In this hour, I am not told what to say. I don't vet the information on this program that I give out," the notoriously specious Hannity accidentally admitted Monday night. "We have always been independent, follow our own path on this show. That's not going to change for me ever."

What that actually means is that he makes no effort to verify whether or not what he says on his show is actually true, which is not the best-kept secret, since Fox News specifically delineates between "news" and "opinion" shows like Hannity and Tucker Carlson to get around their responsibility to the truth. 

Cue him getting dunked on by Twitter:

Spoiler Alert: I know him. @seanhannity does not know what the word “vet” means https://t.co/WhnoSHeVva

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) December 1, 2020

 

Next to a graphic that says "media malpractice," no less. https://t.co/ZLeRh6Tu9J

— Philip Bump (@pbump) December 1, 2020

 

Sean Hannity Exposes Self on Live TV https://t.co/LGlneAbeH9

— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) December 1, 2020

 

look, I'm not surprised but...... still. wow, dude. https://t.co/dMD7iRM7r8

— Rachel Heine (@RachelHeine) December 1, 2020

 

The most influential person in political media takes no responsibility for the carnage in his wake. https://t.co/VKXqBsyIoC

— Pete Dominick (@PeteDominick) December 1, 2020

 

#hannity doesn't vet the what he puts on his show because he knows it's lies, misinformation, disinformation and extremist rightwing propaganda. https://t.co/aXUZaDIaRM

— Susan (@susanj357) December 1, 2020

 

So that we’re clear, the guy whose entire identity is predicated on *his* show being real and every *other* show being fake... admitted on air that he doesn’t actually vet anything he says. https://t.co/tN67yYni8z

— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) December 1, 2020

 

It’s just so hard to believe that Client #3 is a liar #Hannity https://t.co/DZFaEg6gvp

— 😷 Tara Dublin #Biden46 😷 (@taradublinrocks) December 1, 2020

Hannity later tried to correct himself by saying he meant the exact opposite of what he said. “When I said I don’t vet the program, I vet the program, we vet the facts," he said. So when he says he doesn't fact check, apparently that means he does fact check. That sort of thing is often called a Freudian slip.

Also, there's a good chance Keith Olbermann is right, and Hannity just does not know what the word 'vet' means in this context. 

Andy Hunsaker has a head full of sitcom gags and nerd-genre lore, and can be followed @AndyHunsaker if you're into that sort of thing.