| | | Is Fox News as depraved as critics claim?
Gary Schwartz, I am an American citizen who votes.
Well, let’s see. Depraved means “marked by corruption or evil.” I’m going to stay away from evil - too many religious connotations. Corruption is defined as “dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government officials or police officers) : DEPRAVITY” (Both definitions taken from Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's most-trusted online dictionary.)
(Note: “especially” does not mean “exclusively.” One need not be powerful to be corrupt. However, I doubt anyone would argue that Fox News isn’t a powerful network.)
Is altering photos of NYT reporters to give them bigger noses and black circles under their eyes dishonest? Absolutely.
(Both of the above are from Media Matters)
Let’s not forget this gem:
(By Source, Fair use, File:FNCControversy Poodle.png - Wikipedia)
Is changing the party affiliation of a disgraced Republican to Democratic dishonest? Absolutely.
(Media Matters)
(Political Hotwire)
On Sept. 18, 2009, FNC took out full-page ads in WaPo, NYT, and WSJ claiming that all the other major networks & news channels had missed a story. The ad included a photo from CNN’s coverage of the same story. Is that dishonest? Absolutely
On Nov. 11, 2009, The Daily Show aired conclusive evidence that Hannity had lied about some video footage of a health-care protest led by Michele Bachmann, which predictably made it seem as if the event were attended by more people - this is something FNC has tried several times. Sound dishonest?
In Sept. 2010, FNC aired a deceptively edited video of a speech by President Obama. Hannity remarked that the manipulated video represented a “rare moment of honesty” from the president. Sound dishonest?
Now one of the weekend morning shows is treating Trump’s idea to buy Greenland seriously, even though it’s completely preposterous and quite impossible. Is that honest?
I understand that much of FNC’s content is opinion and not news. However, that has no bearing on the content’s honesty, and therefore no bearing on whether FNC is corrupt, which it clearly is.
Edit: Wow! Over 1000 upvotes in less than 24 hours. I feel like Sally Field winning the Oscar for Norma Rae.
Edit 2: Other instances of Fox News’ mendacity have resurfaced.
Back in 2014, near the end of the ACA enrollment period, Fox News attempted to downplay the enrollment numbers. Actual enrollment was about 85% of the goal, but the height of the smaller enrollment bar is only about 35% of the height of the goal bar. That’s definitely dishonest.
(Business Insider)
How could I leave out the Seth Rich lies? In 2017, Fox News put out a false conspiracy theory about Rich’s death that was planted by Russian spies. (The story alleged that Rich had provided DNC emails to Wikileaks and suggested his death was retribution for the leak.) Sean Hannity, one of the most mendacious FNC talking heads, pushed the story on his show. (Newt Gingrich also trumpeted the false story, but that’s unrelated to FNC’s depravity.) The story was only eventually pulled, but the damage was done. Does that sound honest?
Back to the ACA. In October, 2013, Sean Hannity aired a segment in which guests recounted their “Obamacare horror stories.” Cancellations, rate hikes, and restrictions on doctors figured prominently. An enterprising journalist took it upon himself to interview the people from Hannity’s segment. (See Inside the Fox News lie machine: I fact-checked Sean Hannity on Obamacare.) One couple claimed they could not expand their business because of Obamacare. When re-interviewed, they admitted their business had four employees. They would have to expand over 1000% in order to reach the minimum number (49) of employees requiring a business to provide coverage. Honest? A second claimed on Hannity’s show that she paid over $13,000 in premiums, and her policy was recently canceled and replaced with an ACA compliant policy. In reality, she had never tried shopping for an ACA plan on the exchange. Honest? Another couple with similar complaints had also not bothered to shop the exchange for a policy.
More to come as I find it. |
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