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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/

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