MS NOW Faceplants With Fake Kash Patel Story

MS NOW breathlessly told viewers that FBI Director Kash Patel had touched down in Russia, when he was actually standing on a stage in Virginia.

The FBI’s Rapid Response account tore the claim apart on X, posting footage of the network’s Wednesday broadcast side-by-side with video of Patel speaking at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

“MS Now’s ‘sources’ are ‘familiar’ with NOTHING!” the account wrote. Patel spent the morning at a law enforcement appreciation event hosted by Rep. John McGuire, a Virginia Republican, according to the FBI.

Left: MS Now reports two sources familiar say Kash Patel just landed in Russia Right: Here’s where Kash Patel actually is… Liberty U, doing a law enforcement appreciation event MS Now’s “sources” are “familiar” with NOTHING! https://t.co/4i26hV70VW

Anchor Peter Alexander opened the segment by citing two unnamed people who said Patel had arrived in Russia for a scheduled meeting. Correspondent Ken Dilanian piled on with warnings about the risks, telling viewers the FSB would try to surveil the director and crack into his devices while his purpose in the country remained unclear. (RELATED: Legacy Media Outlets Suing Trump Admin Over White House Ban)

Dilanian went back on air roughly two hours and 10 minutes later and conceded the report was wrong. “We regret this error,” he said on MS NOW.

Patel hit back on X, accusing the outlet of lying about the bureau and demanding an apology. Ben Williamson, the FBI’s assistant director for public affairs, wrote on the platform that he watched the breaking news clip air just as photos of Patel at the Lynchburg event reached his phone.

MS NOW just reported I had “landed in Russia” for meetings with the FSB. The same outlet constantly tells lies about this FBI and law enforcement’s historic achievements in safeguarding the American people. The results speak for themselves: • 53,969+ violent crime arrests (up 90%) • Nearly 20% decrease in the nationwide murder rate • 31,016+ violent criminals and gang members arrested (up 30%) • 10 of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives captured (2.5× the prior four years) • 11,081+ child victims located and identified (up 21%) • 3,258+ kilos of fentanyl seized (up 8%) — enough to kill 247+ million Americans This is no accident. It is due to the relentless work of this FBI and all of our state, local, and tribal partners. They owe an apology to this FBI, the men and women of law enforcement, and to the American people. -DKP🇺🇸

Politico reported in July that Patel was tentatively set to visit Moscow and St. Petersburg on Oct. 14 and 15, with the FSB expected to serve as host. Such a trip would make him the first FBI director to enter Russia since Robert Mueller in 2013.

Patel’s fiancée, country singer Alexis Wilkins, sued MSNOW and Dilanian this summer over what she describes as defamatory claims that the director ordered FBI agents to escort her drunken friends home after nights out partying in Nashville, Mediaite reported.