Fox News defends Laura Ingraham from outrage over segment that included white supremacist

Fox News released a statement in support of their host Laura Ingraham after online outrage over her inclusion of a white supremacist and anti-Semite in a segment criticizing social media companies.

Paul Nehlen has become known for his racist and anti-Semitic statements and behavior, but Ingraham included him in a segment decrying social media companies for "censoring" prominent voices.

"It is obscene to suggest that Laura Ingraham was defending Paul Nehlen's despicable actions especially when some of the names on the graphic were pulled from an Associated Press report on best known political extremists banned from Facebook," read the statement from Fox News to the Daily Beast.

"Anyone who watches Laura's show knows that she is a fierce protector of freedom of speech and the intent of the segment was to highlight the growing trend of unilateral censorship in America," the statement concluded.

Many on social media expressed anger at what many saw as support for Nehlen's racist views on the part of Ingraham.

One advertiser said they would pull their ads from the show because of the segment with Nehlen.

Here's the latest on the debate over social media:

Parler CEO: Social media is supposed to be a community forumwww.youtube.com