Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Fox lies



Hilarious, isn't it? Fox "News" complains about signs and chants that Fox Lies! while showing video, supposedly of angry Wisconsin union protesters, showing palm trees in the background!

Heh, heh. It really doesn't get much better than that, does it? Palm trees in Wisconsin? You know, I rather doubt it. It's been years since I've been to Wisconsin, but I can't imagine it's changed that much, global warming or not!

Why use fake video clips? Well, the Wisconsin protests have been completely peaceful, and Fox wanted footage that showed, if not actual violence, at least some pushing and shoving. After all, Fox wants to put these protests in the worst light possible.

Here's another thing: Bill O'Reilly asks the reporter, Mike Tobin, if it's an "organized campaign to not let you do your reporting." This is Fox, so I'm sure Tobin understands the spin they're trying to put on it. But he seems to have a bit too much integrity for that.

Instead, Tobin just says that it's hard to tell, though someone did go to considerable effort to make "professional looking" signs. Still, he says, "I really can't get a finger on the degree of any kind of organization here."

But O'Reilly replies, "OK, so we don't know who's making the signs or who's behind the chanting, or any of that, but you assume - or you suspect - that there is some kind of organized deal." Look at Tobin's grimace when he hears that. It's pretty funny, don't you think?

Because, no, that's not what he said, not at all. This is just the slant that Fox "News" wants to put on the protests, that it's really a matter of "professional left-wingers," as O'Reilly puts it, instead of "regular folks" trying to preserve their rights.

Throughout this clip, O'Reilly is trying to put the Fox spin - the Republican spin - on these protests. And although Tobin doesn't actually protest that, he can't help but grimace when O'Reilly misrepresents what Tobin just told him.

Yes, Fox does lie - blatantly, deliberately, with intent. It's not primarily a news organization. It's the propaganda arm of the Republican Party.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

How desperate you liberals have become to go after fox and try to discredit them simply because you are finally being exposed as mindless big spenders.
That was a union protest, taking place in southern California, supporting the Wisconsin issue and being used as an example of the professional thugs that the union likes to provide to support their democrat bedfellows. Listen to the audio a little closer.
I am a recently retired union worker and like many of us, witnessed first hand how the union protects lazy workers that take advantage of the situation on a daily basis. The union leaders are all corrupt and have a nerve spending the dues of the rank and file supporting anti-capitalist, socialist candidates.
Now go and try to find a real example of how Fox lies, I won't hold my breath.

Bill Garthright said...

Heh, heh. "Desperate" to go after Fox? Liberals (and moderates) go after Fox because they're a right-wing propaganda mill, rather than a news network.

And Fox particularly upsets me, I guess, because I majored in journalism years ago. I never worked in the field, but it still angers me to see American journalism degraded like this.

I often post examples of Fox lies (here, for example, or here). Or, for a more comprehensive list, check out Media Matters. Fox deliberately slants the news to push their own right-wing ideology, and that's why their viewers are the most misinformed.

The above video clip is just one example. Fox couldn't get any shots of violence - not even mild shoving like this - in Wisconsin, so they found some elsewhere. No, they didn't say it was from Wisconsin. They just showed it in the background while they were talking about the Wisconsin protests. It's a subtle lie, but still a deliberate attempt to mislead.

As I explained here, you don't have to tell me about the problems with unions. But if you've got a better option, I'd love to hear it. Oh, and I'd like to hear about those "anti-capitalist, socialist candidates," too. Heh, heh.

In reality, the Democratic Party is staunchly pro-capitalism, from the President on down. In fact, as Republicans have moved to the far-right, Democrats have been moving right as well - too far right, for my tastes (and even I'm not a "socialist"). Well, politics abhors a vacuum. :)

It really sounds like you've been drinking the Fox "News" kool-aid yourself. Careful, or you might become one of those misinformed "angry geezers" (and that was posted on a right-wing website!).