Skip to main content

New study: The brainwashing technique known as Fox News

Over the past year, the Pew Research Center has been conducting a study with regard to where people of different political persuasions get their news and how they discuss such matters. Here were some of the findings:

Consistent liberals...

- ...were rather divided when it came to a main news source they consistently went to for information: 15% went to CNN, 13% relied on NPR, 12% checked out MSNBC, and 10% read The New York Times.

- ...trusted 28 of 36 news outlets which were listed in the survey (NPR, PBS, and BBC were the three most trusted).


Consistent conservatives...

- ...went to Fox News first and foremost for news throughout the day. An astounding 47% listed Fox News as their main source for news.

- ...distrusted 28 of 36 news outlets which were listed in the survey. However, 88% said they trusted Fox News.


I can't say these results were surprising, but they're still quite frustrating. It's like I've said all along, while I despise Fox News and think they're a joke of a "news" organization, they did come up with a rather brilliant scheme to win over viewers and consistently be the cable-"news" king over the past several years. They said they were different than other cable-news channels (which was true), that people would hear stories on their channel they wouldn't hear anywhere else (which was also true), and due to this, other such channels couldn't be trusted, making them the only "fair-and-balanced" news network on television (that's the point where people got fooled). Just look at the numbers - consistent conservatives distrust nearly 78% of news outlets, yet 88% of them trust Fox News. This means that consistent conservatives are typically open to hearing about stories from only 22% of news outlets and just 12% of them may be open to hearing another rebut a claim made by someone at Fox News. This doesn't leave much room for open and civilized discussion regarding the political issues of the day.

Consistent conservative: "Obama's a Muslim!"

Consistent liberal: "Where'd you hear that?"

Consistent conservative: "Fox News, of course - the only network that has the balls to speak the truth!"

Consistent liberal: "That's not true! Here, check out these three links which successfully rebut your claim."

Consistent conservative: "Whoa! Wait a minute! What sites are these?"

Consistent liberal: "They're the fact-checking sites snopes.com, politifact.com, and FactCheck.org."

Consistent conservative: "I don't think so, buddy! I don't trust any of those liberally-biased fact-checking sites! If you want real news, listen to Fox! They're the only ones I trust!"

Consistent liberal: "So, what? Facts are liberally-biased?"

Consistent conservative: "Exactly! I don't trust facts; I just trust Fox!"

Consistent liberal: "Ugh..."


The really sad part about this is the fact that study after study shows Fox News viewers to be more uninformed than anyone except for the deceased. In a PublicMind survey, Fox News viewers finished dead last on their knowledge of both domestic and international news. Here are the rankings:

Domestic Questions

1) NPR (most informed)

2) Sunday Show

3) Daily Show

4) Talk Show

5) CNN

6) MSNBC

7) No News

8) Fox News


International Questions

1) NPR

2) Daily Show

3) Talk Radio

4) Sunday Show

5) CNN

6) No News

7) MSNBC

8) Fox News


Yes, when it came to both domestic and international news, people whom didn't watch any kind of news program at all came away better informed than Fox News viewers.

So, let's break down these numbers again:

- 47% of consistent conservatives go to Fox News as their main news outlet

- 88% of consistent conservatives trust Fox News

- Fox News viewers are less informed about domestic and international news than anyone else, including those whom don't watch the news


In light of these numbers, Fox News should could out with the following ad:

"Want to feel smarter while actually becoming dumber about what's going on in the world? Then watch Fox News, where we distort, we decide, and you go along for the ride! Who needs facts and numbers when we can yell things that make us feel good? Who wants to be the nerd when you can be the bully and force that nerd into doing your homework? Fox News - bullying the nerds to better the world since 1996! Fox yeah!"

http://www.journalism.org/2014/10/21/political-polarization-media-habits/

http://inthecapital.streetwise.co/2014/02/07/study-people-who-dont-watch-the-news-are-more-informed-than-fox-viewers/

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Boycotting jukeboxes because of TouchTunes

I love music and enjoy hitting the bar(s) over the weekend, so naturally, when the mood strikes me, I've never been coy about playing some songs on the jukebox. This past Thursday, a friend of mine turned 50, so several friends of her's, including myself, all met up to celebrate the occasion. At around 9:30, a friend of mine and I both chipped in $5 to play some songs on the jukebox. Four hours and 231 skips later, we gave up on hearing the songs we had selected, and went home knowing we had just wasted $5. This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened to me (and many others), and due to that, I'll be boycotting jukeboxes. Why? The scam known as TouchTunes. You see, here's how the plot typically breaks down. A person (or group of people) downloads the TouchTunes app on his/her phone, consumes one too many adult beverages, and due to this, has less care for spending extra money to hear the songs of their choosing right NOW. That's the thing with TouchTun

The difference between "looking" and "checking out"

I may be way off with these numbers, but it's my approximation that at least 75% of individuals whom are involved in a serious relationship feel it's perfectly acceptable to "check out" members of the opposite sex they're not involved with. Meanwhile, approximately 25% either don't feel this is acceptable or aren't sure about the matter. I hadn't thought about this matter for a while, but since I've been dating a woman for about 8 months, the topic has been pondered about some. When reading or hearing others discuss this very issue, I often times hear comments similar to the following: "It's human nature to look." "There's nothing wrong with checking others out. I'm sure he/she does it too!" "It's fine to do it. Just don't tell your boyfriend/girlfriend about it or do it in front of them!" "It's natural to find people attractive." When observing the array of comments, I i

The verdict is in. To no one's surprise, Jonathan Hoenig has been found guilty of being an idiot.

Just recently, when discussing the Michael Brown shooting and whether or not race had anything to do with it, Fox News contributor Jonathan Hoenig said, "You know who talks about race? Racists." One moment while I provide Mr. Hoenig with the well deserved slow-clap. :: slow-claps for two seconds :: So, that was quite the line by Mr. Hoenig, wasn't it? "You know who talks about race? Racists." Well, wasn't he just talking about race? So, by his own words, I guess that makes him a racist. Also, if he wants to be consistent, does this mean that people whom talk about gender are sexists and people whom talk about sexual orientation are homophobes? With that line of thinking, Hoenig would engage in the following back-and-forths: Hoenig: "So, who are you voting for?" A woman: "The Democratic candidate, because he's been adamant about his support for equal rights for women." Hoenig: "You sexist feminist nazi!"