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Moulton’s campaign alleges the person recording was a “paid political tracker” employed by a Republican-aligned opposition reach organization.

A video posted to social media showing Rep. Seth Moulton apparently knocking a phone out of a person’s hand has sparked a dispute between the congressman’s campaign and Fox News over the identity of the person filming. 

The video, posted Wednesday by Fox News political editor Cameron Cawthorne, shows Moulton, who is currently challenging incumbent Sen. Ed Markey in the state’s Democratic primary, arriving at an event when he is approached by a person recording on a cellphone. 

“Congressman Moulton, do you endorse Graham Platner? Do you endorse Graham Platner in Maine?” the person asks as Moulton walks up the stairs towards the event. Moulton has not endorsed Platner, The Boston Globe reported in May.  

The phone then appears to fall from the person’s hand, apparently after Moulton makes contact with it. 

“You should do a better job at hanging onto your phone,” Moulton says in the video. 

According to Moulton’s campaign Communications Director Taylor Hebble, the incident occurred as Moulton arrived at his 49th town hall as part of a statewide “listening tour.”

Moulton’s campaign alleged the person recording was not a reporter but a “paid political tracker” employed by America Rising, a Republican-aligned opposition reach organization that tracks Democratic candidates. 

Hebble said America Rising has “repeatedly harassed” Moulton and members of his campaign staff at events across Massachusetts. 

“It’s not surprising that Fox is too scared to invite Seth back on their shows, but they’re happy to pay a MAGA tracker to harass him at multiple events across Massachusetts,” the campaign said in a statement. “Seth takes on MAGA anywhere, anytime, and won’t back down. If this tracker can’t handle a reality check or hold onto his own equipment, that’s on him.” 

Fox News rejected the claim that it paid the person in the video with Moulton. 

“FOX News has never paid a tracker to attend an event,” a spokesperson for the outlet said in a statement to Boston.com.

Hebble said Fox News initially identified the person as a Fox News reporter before changing its description after the campaign contacted the network. 

“Fox News erroneously claimed and aired that this individual was a Fox reporter, until we provided them with a statement,” she said. “They then privately acknowledged that this individual is a tracker, but have not issued a formal retraction yet to our knowledge.”   

Moulton also addressed the incident Wednesday in a post on X, sharing a screenshot of Fox News’ coverage.

“Typical MAGA to classify an @AmericaRising tracker as a ‘reporter.’ I’m not going to apologize for how much MAGA pisses me off,” Moulton wrote. “I’ll take them on anywhere, anytime, and I won’t back down.”

“If this tracker can’t handle a reality check or hold onto his own equipment, that’s on him,” the post continued. “Sorry not sorry. And if @FoxNews wants me back on their airwaves so badly, they should stop ghosting my team.”