Reprinted with permission from MediaMatters

For the second time in a month, Fox News has cut ties with commentators over their unhinged remarks about the novel coronavirus. This time, the casualties are Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, sisters who under the stage names "Diamond" and "Silk" had parlayed their obsequious support for President Donald Trump into vlogging stardom, regular Fox appearances, and a show on Fox's streaming service, Fox Nation. But there have been no new episodes of their program since April 7, and The Daily Beast reported Monday that the pair had lost their network gig after coming "under fire for promoting conspiracy theories and disinformation about the coronavirus." The report follows Media Matters' comprehensive reporting on their virus lies.

Diamond and Silk's departure isn't a sign that Fox is becoming more responsible about its handling of the pandemic. The network doesn't have hard standards against lies, bigotry, or conspiracy theories that it enforces on its right-wing commentators. Instead, it has a public relations strategy that revolves around sacrificing low-level employees when they draw too much negative media attention for their remarks, while protecting its big stars when they do the same thing.