On Tuesday, National Public Radio (NPR) ran a story claiming Chief Justice John Roberts asked all nine members of the Supreme Court to wear masks at the behest of Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who had been working remotely because conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch reportedly refused to mask up.
Breitbart News reports that by noon Wednesday, everyone involved went on the record to debunk the story, which came from one unnamed source. Both Justice Sotomayor and Gorsuch released the following statement: “Reporting that Justice Sotomayor asked Justice Gorsuch to wear a mask surprised us. It is false. While we may sometimes disagree about the law, we are warm colleagues and friends.” The Chief Justice himself issued a statement: “I did not request Justice Gorsuch or any other Justice to wear a mask on the bench.”
Despite the three people involved denying the validity of the rumor, NPR doubled down on its false reporting: “What is incontrovertible is that all the justices have at once started wearing masks — except Gorsuch. Meanwhile, Sotomayor has stayed out of the courtroom. Instead, she has participated remotely in the court’s arguments and the justices’ weekly conference, where they discuss the cases and vote on them.”
As one of the left’s most prominent propaganda outlets, NPR can’t afford to back down on its false, anti-conservative narrative.