A Sinclair Broadcasting Group spokesperson told Media Matters about the Peters segment: “We were not aware of the association and are reviewing our internal policies on sponsored content. The segment in question is no longer on our air.”
Peters is the host of The Stew Peters Show, which streams on Rumble. He frequently pushes for the death of his perceived enemies, including repeatedly advocating for the executions of people who have backed the COVID-19 vaccines. Peters is so extreme that he recently ran a segment endorsing the executions of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce over the Kansas City tight end’s promotion of the Pfizer vaccine.
Sinclair’s promotion of Peters is even more egregious because he has called for the deaths of reporters who have promoted vaccines. In March, Peters wrote: “The journos, anchors and hosts that participated should be indicted, tried and fried.” In June, he posted a video of various media and government figures talking about the vaccine and wrote: “Every single one of these people deserve the rope.”
On X (formerly Twitter), Peters has also endorsed the killings of politicians and LGBTQ advocates.
Peters regularly promotes white nationalism and antisemitism and appeared at Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes’ conference last year. He recently complained of Jewish people: “Support for homos, trans, abortion, and the unchecked illegal invasion of every country on earth isn't exactly a message of morality.” He also wrote that Judaism is a “death cult built on the blood of murdered babies.”
He promotes bizarre and dangerous conspiracy theories, including those related to QAnon, Pizzagate, the Uvalde and Sandy Hook mass shootings, 9/11, the Maui wildfires, and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Peters is also a flat earther, writing: “If the ‘globe’ is ‘round’, someone is going to have to prove it to me.”
Peters was behind Died Suddenly, a widely debunked and misinformation-filled movie that pushes the conspiracy theory that, as the Anti-Defamation League summarized, “Covid-19 vaccines are causing healthy individuals to develop deadly blood clots, suggesting this is proof that ‘global elites’ are using Covid-19 vaccines to depopulate the planet as part of a broader conspiracy to establish a global, totalitarian regime.”
Despite that history, Sinclair stations across the country ran “sponsored” segments featuring Peters and meteorologist Brian van de Graaff from Sinclair’s Washington, D.C.-based station WJLA.
The roughly two-and-a-quarter-minutes segment began with van de Graaff touting Peters’ credentials, stating that he is a “former bounty hunter and host of The Stew Peters Show. Stew is also the producer of the film Died Suddenly, which was viewed by over 30 million people worldwide.” (A roughly 30-second longer version of the segment has also aired.)
The segment then transitioned into treating Peters as a purported financial expert, including van de Graaff asking for his “thoughts on the recent bank bailouts and frail financial system.” Peters responded that when it comes to savings, “the only answer is to invest in precious metals, physical gold and physical silver,” and viewers should do it through Goldco, the segment’s sponsor.
According to a search of the media databases Kinetiq and TVEyes, Peters’ segment aired on at least 16 Sinclair-affiliated stations since May through September, most recently on September 28:
- KTXS in Abilene, Texas
- WBMA in Birmingham, Alabama
- WCIV in Charleston, South Carolina
- WTVC in Chattanooga, Tennessee
- WTTE in Columbus, Ohio
- KSCC in Corpus Christi, Texas
- KFOX in El Paso, Texas
- KVCW in Las Vegas, Nevada
- KHGI in Lincoln-Hastings-Kearney, Nebraska
- KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas
- KOKH in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- KUTV in Salt Lake City, Utah
- KABB in San Antonio, Texas
- WSBT in South Bend, Indiana
- KTUL in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- WJLA in Washington, D.C.
In one instance, Peters’ segment also aired on KRGV in Harlingen, Texas, which is owned by Mobile Video Tapes Inc. (KRGV was airing the show Daytime, which is produced by Sinclair.)
At times, Peters’ segment was introduced by local news personalities. In Little Rock, for instance, the sponsored segment was introduced on Good Morning Arkansas by host Ansley Watson, who said: “Do you have concerns about the direction of the U.S. economy? Our D.C. correspondent Brian van de Graaff shares information about how you can protect your retirement savings from inflation.” In Birmingham, Alabama, Talk of Alabama host Katherine Page made a similar introduction before the start of the segment.
Gold companies have heavily targeted conservative audiences over the years. In addition to Peters, Goldco also uses Fox News host Sean Hannity as a spokesperson. Despite their mutual Goldco connection, Peters has called Hannity a “ball-less” phony; traitor; “bloviating blowhard”; “fake JiuJitsu champ”; and someone who “sold his soup to the communists” and is part of the “sold-out fake news media.”
Peters has previously thanked Goldco “for making our Died Suddenly film possible.”
Goldco connecting with Sinclair is a natural fit, as the media company has long broadcasted conservative propaganda to viewers across the country.
Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.
