Ex-CBS News Journalist Alleges Network Punished Her After Questioning Dr. Anthony Fauci — 'I Got Pulled Off Air'
Brittney Hopper previously worked for CBS News.
July 30 2026, Published 4:20 p.m. ET
Brittney Hopper has claimed CBS News wouldn't let her question Dr. Anthony Fauci, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The independent journalist was reporting on COVID-19 at the time, before new Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss took over, and she alleged she lost her airtime due to her questions of Fauci.
Brittney Hopper Alleges She Was Booted Over Dr. Anthony Fauci Questions
Brittney Hopper claims she was reinstated after apologizing.
Speaking to Australia’s News24, Hopper reflected on her time "on the front lines" of pandemic reporting.
She claimed, "I remember after a couple of years of dealing with hearing this man and interviewing this man, and having to wear masks and having our kids out of school for years, I remember questioning what he was doing. And I got in trouble and pulled off air for a couple of days because I started questioning him."
After she allegedly "apologized," Hopper was allowed back on the air. However, she left the news organization permanently in 2022. "As I've mentioned before on here, I was their puppet on mainstream media for so many years," she claimed.
Brittney Hopper Demands 'Wake Up Call' for News Agencies Amid Dr. Anthony Fauci Probe
Hopper claimed news agencies complied and were complicit in Fauci's information spreading.
Hopper told her story as a "wake-up call," hoping the news agency will reform in the future.
After all, Fauci's policy recommendations are currently under investigation. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing to question Fauci about the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and its origins.
The elected officials were tasked with questioning whether Fauci previously lied under oath about the U.S.-funded "gain-of-function" research in Wuhan, China.
With Fauci now in the hot seat, Hopper hopes news outlets will learn to question those in authority with more scrutiny moving forward. She said, "I hope that this is somewhat of a wake-up call for news organizations around the world."
Hopper alleged Fauci "made up" the recommendation to stand six feet apart in an act called social distancing. She further took issue with "wearing masks outside with not a single soul around us."
She added, "There were so many questions that were left unanswered, and let me give him the benefit of the doubt. That first year, many of us, we had no idea what was going on, but then when we started to learn more and more and started to really use journalistic integrity, which maybe that’s just been thrown out the window."
The journalist accused news agencies of jumping "on the bandwagon" and spurring fear in Americans.
Dr. Anthony Fauci Pleads the Fifth
Fauci chose not to answer questions from the committee.
Fauci sat before the committee for questioning, but the officials didn't get very far as the doctor refused to answer questions. He invoked his Fifth Amendment right over every question, including minuscule items.
"Under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions," he repeated throughout a two-hour committee hearing.
His refusal to answer questions came with immense scrutiny from the right. Hopper slammed him, saying, "And I mean, look at what he was saying today, pleading the Fifth… He couldn't even answer what the color of his tie was. He said, I'm going to plead the Fifth."
Rand Paul Vows Contempt Vote
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Fauci believes the testimony is a ploy to get him 'behind bars.'
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), the chair of the committee, even threatened to hold Fauci, who was subpoenaed to testify, in contempt. He plans to force a vote on the matter.
Fauci said, "The sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars.'"
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) was accused of funding studies that created the 2020 pandemic. However, federal reviews have never been able to confirm the virus' source. There's been no proof the virus was engineered and leaked from a lab – and Fauci continues to deny any wrongdoing.
