Media, Business & Politics

Free speech does not include the right to intentionally deceive or mislead the American public; but that’s precisely what Fox News does every day. If the news doesn’t fit into their narrative, they will actually change the news story to fit. Case in point:

By the way he delivers it, and the look on his face, it’s as though Hannity is setting up a joke; but this is *no* joke. These ‘entertainment’ and indoctrination tactics are being used on a “news” network, disguised as news and political commentary, meant to influence the American public so they think a certain way, and ultimately vote a certain way. It undermines the very fabric of a democracy.

This type of intentionally deceitful editing & reporting should not be tolerated. I can’t believe this shit is even on TV in this country, much less on a network that boasts its ‘Fair and Balanced’ reporting – AND that is apparently considered the most trusted news organization in America. [Note: Just because it's perceived to be the most trusted doesn't actually give it any credibility. That's the equivalent of saying Katy Perry is the most talented musician in the US because she has the #1 selling single right now. Popularity does not equate to quality or integrity! News should not be a popularity contest.]

While other networks may not be perfect, and some may even use some of the same tactics to support their own narrative, none are even close to as intentionally deceitful as Fox News. Their daily coverage of what’s happening in our country and around the world is filled with clips just like this one, taken out of context to willfully deceive and mislead the American public, in order to support, their narrative at any cost. Their primary goal is not simply to get the news out to the country, as they’d have you believe; Their primary goal is to indoctrinate you in their own beliefs, regardless of the truth or the ‘real’ news. Every one of their shows, all day and night, is meant to shape your mind, rather than to give you the facts and let you make your own conclusions. They don’t *want* you to think! They want you to be entertained & brainwashed, all the while having you believe you’re getting the real news.

EDIT:
Complete Fox News Segment:

EDIT:
There’s a good discussion going on here:
http://www.politicalforum.com/political-opinions-beliefs/150038-cnn-host-calls-out-sean-hannity-deceptive-video-editing.html

If, even after viewing clips like this one, you continue to watch Fox News, you need to realize that you are willfully taking part in the deceit of America. You are being used as a puppet, to vote the way they want you to vote.

Credit to “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” for uncovering this clip. I would have simply used the clip from the show, but since Viacom doesn’t allow small custom clips to be embedded, I had to make my own. The clip from Sean Hannity’s show is covered under Fair Use for Political Commentary, just as it was when it was ripped from Sean Hannity’s show for The Daily Show. Here’s the whole clip:

On one occasion in the past, Sean Hannity apologized to Jon Stewart after being called out on one of his bullshit reports:

Apparently that one smug apology nearly a year ago was meant to make up for all of the *future* ‘inadvertent mistakes’ like cutting up clips of the President’s speeches and presenting them completely out of context.

There is an *excellent* commentary at desmogblog.com in reference to climate change reporting, but it applies very well to the much broader issue of deceitful news reporting. Here are a few excerpts:

“Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed.” … “There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.”

“Although all public relations professionals are bound by a duty to not knowingly mislead the public, some have executed comprehensive campaigns of misinformation on behalf of industry clients on issues ranging from tobacco and asbestos to seat belts.”

http://www.desmogblog.com/about-climate-cover

A growing number of citizens of our country seem to be stuck in some strange patriotic/anti-American double-speak paradigm. They claim to be the most patriotic citizens, and that they want nothing more than to support and defend the Constitution. They often imply, and occasionally outright claim, that because Christianity was the religion of the Founding Fathers, it is somehow superior; all the while defending the Constitution – including freedom of religion. Nothing illustrates this better than the recent media firestorm over the so-called ‘Mosque at Ground Zero.’

The name itself is a misnomer, purposely meant to insinuate that the Islamic community center will not only be *AT* Ground Zero, but that it will be nothing more than a giant mosque; In reality, the site is a few blocks away from Ground Zero, and only a fraction of the building would be for prayer space. But the name insinuates that the proposed building is unpatriotic. It preys on our fears of another terrorist attack, and the fact that radicals who carried out the 9/11 attacks were Muslim.

If you buy into the hype, you should agree that building a Islamic community center anywhere near Ground Zero is insensitive to the victims and anyone affected by 9/11. You’ll hear this repeated time and time again on Fox News and countless other right-wing media. If you don’t bother to think about it much, as is the case with most of the victims of this double-speak, it sounds patriotic enough: 9/11 was a horrific event, and we need to respect the victims. While that is true, this cultural center does nothing to disrespect anyone affected by 9/11, unless you blame the entire Islamic community for the attacks, which is quite un-American.

Imagine for a moment that a Christian group wanted to build a huge community center a few blocks from Ground Zero. Perhaps some non-Christian groups would dub it the ‘Church at Ground Zero.’ But do you think there would be much of a controversy? I would be willing to bet that even if they were able to secure enough funds to build their community center not only near Ground Zero, but right on the footprint where the Twin Towers once stood, it wouldn’t be a problem. It’s a double-standard due to the incorrect perception that Christianity is this country’s ‘true’ religion, even though that’s directly contradictory to the Constitiution.

Yes, the people who carried out the 9/11 attacks were Muslim; But it doesn’t mean all Muslims are terrorists any more than the small number of priests who were sexually abusing boys means that all priests are pedophiles. If we are to condemn the entire Islamic community because of those 19 terrorists, then shouldn’t we be up in arms whenever a Catholic group wants to build a community center near a school? [Credit: The Daily Show]. Yes, it’s just as ludicrous as the ‘Mosque at Ground Zero’ argument, but the absurdity seems to be going right over most people’s heads.

To argue that an Islamic group shouldn’t build a community center near Ground Zero because the extremists who carried out the 9/11 attacks belonged to their religion directly contradicts the First Amendment. To use that very argument as a basis for your own patriotism is as unpatriotic and un-American as the terrorist attacks themselves. The 9/11 events were an attack on our way of life. They were an attack on our freedom, including the freedom to believe in and worship however we choose. But instead of bringing us together to fight for our freedom, they’re being exploited to divide us, and to make us even less tolerant of the diversity of our fellow Americans. If the opponents to the Islamic community center near Ground Zero are successful, it will be just as devastating to our freedom as the 9/11 terrorist attacks themselves.

The Daily Show has great coverage of this topic:

Update

Fox News is making a big deal out of this. They moved from the 2nd row to the first, in the White House Briefing Room (made possible by Helen Thomas’ retirement). They’re finally joining the ranks of such networks as, oh, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Reuters, & AP. The problems is, they take it as a legitimization of their reporting, which sucks, because their ‘news’ reporting is only getting worse. I firmly believe they shouldn’t be able to call their cable channel “Fox News” as the great majority is entertainment programming designed to look like news (but never claiming outright to be news). Then there is their official “News” segments, which they make damn sure you know are *news* but in reality are anything but. They’re mostly sensationalized stories that shouldn’t even be mentioned, or biased slants on real news stories in order to push their political agenda. A more appropriate title may be “Fox Entertainment, Yellow Journalism & Clown Channel.”

[via Huffington Post]:
“Bill O’Reilly: I’m Going To Front Row Of White House Briefing Room (VIDEO)”

This shit is effin’ scary.. Honestly, even Jon Stewart would be more appropriate to be in the front row of the White House Briefing room – at least he asks his guests real questions without a blatant political agenda behind them, which is WAY more than I can say for most (or all?) of Fox News’ “News” shows. They disguise blatant bias, political agenda, racism, corporatism, … all behind the guise of news. They ask questions with such a slant that the question itself gives the viewer the impression that the answer doesn’t matter – the bias has already been set. It’s bad enough that *any* reporter from Fox gets to be in the front row; but one of their extremist journalists (O’Reilly, Hannity, Beck, as O’Reilly suggests)? It would make a complete joke of the briefing. I know Stephen Colbert is a parody of O’Reilly, but *he* would be more appropriate in that seat than any of those Fox ‘News’ clowns.

Jon Stewart at his best, and one of the best quotes I’ve ever heard. This was in response to Fox News Commentator Bernie Golberg’s criticism of Stewart, claiming he wants to be a social commentator more than just a comedian.

The fact that these Fox News commentators are even comparing Stewart to themselves exemplifies the very issue they’re trying to make against Stewart – and that is exactly Stewart’s point: A comedians’ very job is to make jokes in response to society; ‘social commentary,’ if you will, but with an added layer of humor. On the other hand, the job of social commentators  – especially those on a *news* network (and one that claims itself to be ‘fair and balanced’ no less) is *not* to entertain or to sensationalize – it’s to discuss what’s going on in society. That’s it. But when you mix the need for high ratings with the push for a particular political narrative, I can see how they might get confused by where the line is. But Stewart is exactly right – it’s not the comedians who are changing where the line is…

A few more choice quotes from the episode:

“You can’t criticize me for not being fair and balanced; That’s your slogan… which, by the way… you never follow.”

And in response to Goldberg’s suggestion that Stewart is a safe Jay Leno with the F-bomb, Stewart replied:
“If you think I’m Leno with the F-bomb, you know less about comedy than you do about media and politics.”

Stewart followed up his, well, commentary, with an over-the-top song and dance with an evangelical-style singer, complete with backup choir, singing a song with the chorus, “Go F**k Yourself.”

It’s 12 minutes long, but it’s some of the best 12 minutes in recent television history.

Read the AP’s take on it.

Fox News’ obviously blatant (and successful) attempts to smear this administration using whatever lies they care to spread should not be legal. There is no question that what they’re reporting is completely contrary to the facts, and deliberately misleading their viewers to support their narrative & agenda (which is to put Conservatives in power by brainwashing as many voters as they can). It seriously scares the shit out of me that this kind of crap is even on TV… much less a mainstream “news” outlet that constantly claims fair and balanced reporting.