Does Bill O’Reilly Also Have Brian Williams-Style War Story Lies?

Bill O’Reilly was one of several news pundits to specifically call out Brian Williams’ actions following the revelation that the NBC anchor had lied about the events surround at least one of his Iraq War stories. Bill blasted Brian’s distortion of the facts as more than just an isolated misstep. Instead, O’Reilly said the case was a sign for further scrutiny into the liberal media in a quest to “stop the corruption and begin telling the truth without an agenda.”

The day before this broadcast, Bill also made a separate appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live to discuss the Williams debacle. There, O’Reilly’s tone was different. Bill spoke about how distasteful he felt it was others were joyfully pouncing on the destruction of Brian’s career, partially blaming the culture of the internet for how quickly the situation had devolved.

A new report from Mother Jones may explain O’Reilly’s sympathy for Brian’s situation. According to the progressive magazine, O’Reilly has a few of his own inconsistencies, one of which relates back to his time as a CBS anchor in Argentina during the Falklands War.

Mother Jones reports that while Bill has on multiple occasions used his time in the area as evidence that he experienced wartime conflict, it is not possible that O’Reilly could have done so. In fact, no American reporters of any kind were allowed on the remote islands, according Susan Zirinsky, the CBS producer for the region at the time.

“Nobody got to the war zone during the Falklands war. You weren’t allowed on by the Argentinians. No CBS person got there.”

The story also calls into question an anecdote from Argentina that appeared in Bill’s book The No-Spin Zone. O’Reilly tells the story of being trapped in a violent protest where “many were killed” and Bill was left the “best news footage” he had ever seen. In the book, Bill claims that the footage was not properly attributed to him and that it caused tensions that eventually caused him to part ways with CBS.

Again, O’Reilly’s story is at odds with the other reporting at the time. There is no evidence that anyone died in the protest that Bill is referencing. You can view the footage that O’Reilly said contained “violence up close and personal” below.

Mother Jones also noted another instance in El Salvador, where there seemed to be some Brian Williams-esque exaggerating from Bill O’Reilly while he was reporting in El Salvador. Bill has already exchanged heated words with the Mother Jones piece’s authors, saying he never claimed to be in the Falklands, reported Politico.

[Images via NBCUniversal/Getty Images]