Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is furious with a number of media outlets, particularly Fox News, who has refused to publish an op-ed he wrote concerning the conclusions of an investigation into efforts by federal officials to downplay the injuries many have sustained from the COVID-19 vaccine. Johnson recently revealed on social media platform X that he had written the piece and was having difficulty getting it published.
Johnson, who is the chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, later decided to publish his piece on his official Senate website with the headline, “The story the media — and the government — don’t want you to hear.” Johnson makes the case in the article that federal health officials were fully aware of the major safety concerns surrounding the vaccine in2021, but did not alert Americans.
“The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA TODAY, and Fox Digital have all declined or ignored requests to publish this op-ed,” Johnson says in the article. Along with the op-ed Johnson also put out a Majority Staff Interim Report from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that alleges health officials within the Biden administration ignored warning signs connected with the vaccine.
According to a report from Trending Politics News, right-of-center outlet Fox News provided coverage of Johnson’s report on May 3, 2026, but has yet to publish his follow-up piece. The Wisconsin Republican also said that NBC, ABC, PBS, CNN, and MS NOW also refused to cover his report. This has led to conservatives questioning why the piece isn’t being run and if it could be the result of media bias.
The Daily Caller reached out to Fox News, Johnson’s office, and the Department of Health and Human Services for a comment on the situation, but none of them responded as of this writing. There were a number of comments on the refusal to provide coverage for the report, with many believing that the large amount of ad spending by pharmaceutical companies on the networks is playing a role.
“At least Newsmax had Johnson on to discuss his findings,” one user went on to say about the story. “Do you watch any conservative media? Do you see the advertising? A massive percentage of their ads are from pharmaceutical companies. You don’t think that isn’t influencing what they cover?” Someone else published a post alluding to Fox News betraying its core audience.
“Hey Fox…Et to Brute?” the person stated. A user pointed out that Johnson should consider alternative media outlets instead of turning to legacy networks. “Dozens of online sites would happily print his op-ed or better still sit down with him. Legacy media is pointless,” the person wrote. Along those same lines, a commenter suggested Johnson go on popular podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience.
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“A simple solution, put him on Joe Rogan or call Musk and get lot of X support with lot of interviews and bypass the censors. Rogan’s impact on Trump’s winning was the lever, do it again.” One final comment stated, “When you drill down to who runs FOX News, they’re pretty much just as corrupt and deceptive as the rest, if not worse.Half truths anyone? Sanitized red meat anyone? Stories they don’t cover anyone?”