Sep 10 2012

Oh, FoxNews, you are so two-faced

Categories:

Media, Politics

by PZ Myers

And Jon Stewart, you are so good when you’re exposing them.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

This post has no tag

39 comments

Skip to comment form ↓

1

Gregory in Seattle

10 September 2012 at 9:47 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Can you at least pretend to be surprised? Faux Nooze gets cranky, otherwise.
2

Beatrice

10 September 2012 at 10:11 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Speaking like a woman who spends most of her mornings sitting next to two empty chairs.

Heh
3

anteprepro

10 September 2012 at 11:06 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Well, that’s just classic. It’s just sad that 90% of Fox News viewers either won’t notice the double standards or won’t care if it is pointed out to them. It must be so easy to spin and propagandize to a group of people who are so eagerly led.
4

Q.E.D

10 September 2012 at 11:10 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Annoyingly, can’t see video from the UK.[1]

[1] more precisely, I don’t know how to access the video from the UK
5

Keith Peterson

10 September 2012 at 11:27 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Fox News? Are they still relevant? How do they even get viewers?
6

manuel s.lara bisch

10 September 2012 at 11:35 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I just noticed that Sean Hannity looks like the lovechild of Jay Leno and George W. Bush, in terms of face.

Also, this whole new segment reminds me a lot of the British satire mag Private Eye, who do a great job exposing the rampant amnesia among Fleet Street journos.
7

Pteryxx

10 September 2012 at 11:38 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Fox News? Are they still relevant? How do they even get viewers?

By being the default channel on every TV in almost every restaurant and waiting room in the South? At least here in Texas. There are folks here who won’t watch any channel *except* Fox – safer that way y’know.
8

cicely (presented without qualification)

10 September 2012 at 11:42 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

It must be so easy to spin and propagandize to a group of people who are so eagerly led.

That’s because it leads that particular viewership where they want to go.

Fox News? Are they still relevant? How do they even get viewers?

By confirming those viewers’ preconceptions and biases. It provides them with a comforting/comfortable affirmation that they are right!
-
9

epicure

10 September 2012 at 11:48 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

@Q.E.D.

Even more annoying, The Daily Show is shown in UK on a satellite (SKY) channel, but we can’t view their internet videos.

Daft, I call it…
10

Audley Z. Darkheart: My name is Legion, for we are many

10 September 2012 at 11:55 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Keith:

How do they even get viewers?

By knowing their key demographic (older white people) and telling them what they want to hear.
11

Q.E.D

10 September 2012 at 12:07 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Keith @ 5

Fox News? Are they still relevant? How do they even get viewers?

Faux News has more viewers than its top 3 competitors combined.

It’s viewers are more misinformed on the facts than people who report watching no news at all.

As evidenced by Paul Ryan’s speech at the GOP convention, conservative politicians feel free to lie to their audience without any fear of being caught out by the media their voters watch.

Yeah, I’d say Faux News is relevant if you give a flying fuck about the state of democracy in the US.

Faux news viewers
12

anteprepro

10 September 2012 at 12:21 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Keith:

How do they even get viewers?

This will probably be a re-hash, but it is basically three-fold:

1. Uninformed Undecideds Might Accept Fox As Actual News:
Fox relies on hooking in people who aren’t very informed about politics and the history of Fox News’s dishonesty. These people might make the mistake of thinking Fox News is actually News. And they might not even pay enough attention to realize that it isn’t at the end of their occasional viewing sessions.

2. Conservatives Are Encouraged To Watch Fox and Only Fox:
Fox relies on the fact that hard-core conservatives will not watch anything else, because every other form of conservative media, and every conservative in regular media, rambles on and on about how non-conservative media is biased. Fox is the de-facto conservative “news” source on television and conservative talking heads everywhere else convince conservatives to not trust anything but a conservative “news” source. Every conservative is funneled towards Fox News.

3. People (And Especially Conservatives) Are Idiots:
Fox relies on the fact that hard-core conservatives are RWAs. They suck at logic and are all about obedience and accepting the word of their “superiors”. They will not fact check. They will not notice inconsistencies. They will rationalize any problems that are brought to their attention. They will accept everything that is shoveled to them by people they trust as obvious facts. As long as Fox News plays to right-wing biases, they can be stupid and wrong 24/7 and the people watching will not care. The only way that Fox News will lose it’s most conservative viewers is if they do not seem conservative enough. And they will continue to turn Blank Slate viewers more conservative if those Blank Slate viewers watch Fox News primarily, because it is harder to get someone to drop a misconception by later refutation than it is to get them to believe the misconception in the first place .

So, as long as there are people who don’t know Fox News isn’t news, there will be non-conservatives watching occasionally and actually believing the bullshit. As long as there are conservatives pretending that media is liberally biased, conservatives will flock to the one blatantly conservatively biased channel. And as long as people remain stupid, conservatives will accept the bullshit even if it is contradicted and the formerly uninformed will have the misinformation spewed by Fox stick in their minds and have it bias their politics in the future.

The question isn’t how Fox still has viewers. That’s pretty obvious once you realize that conservatives are a thing. The question is: How we can stop it from having viewers? How can we get conservatives to become less conservative? This is a far harder question because it is effectively asking “How can you move an immovable object?”. Not easily, that’s for fucking sure.
13

Balstrome

10 September 2012 at 12:34 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

One must remember that a large portion of Fox TV’s viewership is made up of those on the left, because humans need to feel offended about things. It is similar to the need to pray, thinking you doing something without actually doing something evidenced
14

Lynna, OM

10 September 2012 at 12:36 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I think we can file this in the “jesus fucking christ, some voters are too dumb to be weaned from Fox News” category:

Link to story in Salon.

According to a PPP poll of likely Ohio voters, 15 percent of Republicans in Ohio think Romney is “more responsible” for bin Laden’s death than Obama, while 47 percent of Republicans are “not sure” whether Obama or Romney deserves more of the credit.
15

anteprepro

10 September 2012 at 12:41 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

One must remember that a large portion of Fox TV’s viewership is made up of those on the left, because humans need to feel offended about things.

It could be that the liberals viewers are trying to give Fox a fair hearing. It could be that they are trying to figure out if it is really as biased as other liberals say it is. It could be that the liberal viewers are just trying to see the kind of issues that conservatives care about. Or see what kinds of arguments they have to make about issues X, Y, and Z and see if the arguments hold up. Because, occasionally, you need to see if the Opposing Side actually has anything of merit to say, before you decide to just pat yourself on the back for the rest of eternity. Sometimes you actually to see if the people who disagree with you actually have a point before congratulating yourself for being So Fucking Right.

Or it could be about liberals wanting to be offended. Yeah, that one sounds more likely. Totally.
16

anteprepro

10 September 2012 at 12:43 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

According to a PPP poll of likely Ohio voters, 15 percent of Republicans in Ohio think Romney is “more responsible” for bin Laden’s death than Obama, while 47 percent of Republicans are “not sure” whether Obama or Romney deserves more of the credit.

Romney: The Seventh Member of Seal Team Six.
17

Balstrome

10 September 2012 at 12:49 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

In other words Anteprepro, teach both side of the controversy? How American of you. Sometimes there is only one side and you do not need to look into the other kids play box to know that yours is the better option. You have the tools to do this, integrity and the scientific method, if your views stand up to it’s claims then you views must be the better ones.

Face the facts, for left America, Fox TV is an entertainment channel, that is why it broadcasts the material it does.
18

jthompson

10 September 2012 at 12:53 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

@ateprepro: I’d be willing to say liberals were watching it to see what arguments they may have to refute in the future, but you can’t refute conspiracy theories or logical disconnects. Any refutation is just absorbed into the conspiracy.

“Obama didn’t try to take your guns because he’s going to take your guns!!!” was a good one. So was “Obama doesn’t try to force his religion on people, so he’s going to force his religion on you!!!”.

The more you point out that he clearly has no desire to control their guns or their religion, the more worked up they become because it’s just further evidence that he’s trying to trick them.

TL:DR: The only way to “refute” Fox News viewers is with Thorazine.
19

anteprepro

10 September 2012 at 1:07 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Face the facts, for left America, Fox TV is an entertainment channel, that is why it broadcasts the material it does.

I know that Bastrome. I just don’t think for a minute that everyone was lucky enough to have gotten the memo, though. And I also think there are enough liberals out there who have gotten the memo but who are sufficiently skeptical and independent-minded that they won’t just take the word of fellow travellers when we say that Fox is nothing but a giant mountain of shit. They want to see it for themselves, and I don’t think that should be discouraged. That skepticism, that “I’m not gonna just take your word for it, I need to see it for myself” quality is what makes liberals actually different from conservatives. It is one of the key factors that prevent us from ever being JUST AS BAD, as the radical moderates and opportunistic righties like to reflexively claim we are.

Sometimes there is only one side and you do not need to look into the other kids play box to know that yours is the better option.

How? Hearsay? Psychic powers? We don’t automatically know that creationists are spewing bullshit and are completely ignorant of what they claim to criticize. It is only when we look into their “play box” that we know that. And I would really like to see science actually work if it completely ignored the possibility that critics might actually have a good point before even reading what the critics have to say.

jthompson: Watch it with the Thorazine comment. Ableism.

And once you reach the point in conspiracy theorizing where you are pretending that counter-examples to the conspiracy are consistent with the conspiracy, you are refuting yourself. Not like that matters, since the point is that you don’t even know that Fox News is dabbling in conspiracy theories in the first place unless someone is doing the duty of watching the nonsense.
20

Ing: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream So I Comment Instead

10 September 2012 at 1:08 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

One must remember that a large portion of Fox TV’s viewership is made up of those on the left, because humans need to feel offended about things. It is similar to the need to pray, thinking you doing something without actually doing something evidenced

Citation sorely needed
21

Tapetum, Raddled Harridan

10 September 2012 at 1:08 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

About the only way to break committed conservatives away from Fox News and modern conservatism in general is for them to feel personally betrayed in some way. It’s very similar to the way a lot of religious people will remain loyal to a blatantly corrupt or immoral church. I have various friends/family members who are Catholic. The ones who have left the church, are the ones who were directly affected by the rot in the church in some manner, enough for the sense of personal betrayal to break through the reflexive honoring of people they see as their superiors. One of my most devotedly liberal friends started as a pretty conservative Catholic, but was in the diocese of Boston, and Bernard Law was sufficient to make him stop assuming the rectitude of the church and cause him to break away.

Part of the problem being that there aren’t many ways to make someone feel personally betrayed by a news station.
22

Amphiox

10 September 2012 at 1:13 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

One must remember that a large portion of Fox TV’s viewership is made up of those on the left, because humans need to feel offended about things.

Know thy enemy.

Of course, how many of these viewers are just tuning in for The Simpsons?
23

marilove

10 September 2012 at 1:33 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Um, Amphiox? Fox News is a seperate network from the Fox network that the Simpsons are on. Fox News is a cable network. The local Fox channels are ultimatley owned by the same company but otherwise aren’t really related. The local Fox 10 news here isn’t great but it isn’t Faux News by any means.
24

Keith Peterson

10 September 2012 at 2:44 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I always thought Fox News was a parody news channel. Sort of like a 24/7 The Onion.
25

TerranRich

10 September 2012 at 2:44 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Liberals watch Fox News for the same reason that atheists read the Bible/Qu’ran/Torah/etc.
26

kantalope

10 September 2012 at 3:11 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Is FNews the propaganda arm of the Republican party or
Is the Republican Party the political wing of Newscorp?

I can never keep that straight.
27

Stardrake

10 September 2012 at 4:05 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

S’alright. Neither can they.
28

Illuminata, Genie in the Beer Bottle

10 September 2012 at 4:19 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

By being the default channel on every TV in almost every restaurant and waiting room in the South?

in western new york as well. Every restaurant, every bar, every gym, everywhere. never MSNBC, always Fox (and CNN).
29

Trickster Goddess

10 September 2012 at 5:42 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Canadian link for the Daily Show is here:
http://dailyshow.thecomedynetwork.ca/

Now if only someone could tell us which episode the clip is from, we could look it up…
30

JohnnieCanuck

10 September 2012 at 5:50 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Trickster,

September 7, clip 3 of 4.

Just finished the long search for it.
31

echidna

10 September 2012 at 5:58 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Part of the problem being that there aren’t many ways to make someone feel personally betrayed by a news station.

The realisation that I have been lied to will do it for me every time.
32

chrisv

10 September 2012 at 6:59 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Why do older white men watch Fox News? I am amazed nobody has brought it up sooner. Google “fox news show leg”. They are titillating the old fools.
33

ericyoungstrom

10 September 2012 at 8:01 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Fox News…. “Just shut up and watch!”

Well it has a better ring to it than “Fair and Balanced”
34

A. R

10 September 2012 at 8:14 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I read something the other day about the purpose of party-dominated news outlets like Fox that while obvious to anyone with a functioning cerebrum, bears repeating: They have absolutely no interest in reporting, their job, as a wing of their party is the whip the members into a rabid fervor to keep them working toward whatever goal the party has set.
35

johnmarley

10 September 2012 at 9:03 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

@A.R.

I remember reading something similar about talking heads like O’Reilly and Limbaugh. It is not their job to report the news. Their job is to demonize Democrats, especially President Obama. So it doesn’t matter one whit what the Dems do. Limbaugh (for example) has to make it seem like the worst thing ever. Even if the previous day he had complained that the Dems were not doing exactly that.

And his fans don’t care about the inconsistencies. Not even a little bit. I know. I work for one.
36

skeptifem

10 September 2012 at 9:05 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

I thought fox lost a shit ton of its viewership after obama was elected? Maybe I had the wrong impression…I cannot for the life of me remember where I heard it. They bullshit so much about their own popularity that its hard for me to know where to go for actual information on that.
37

John Phillips, FCD

10 September 2012 at 10:44 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

QED use Firefox with the Modify Headers add-on and follow the instructions here: watching The Daily Show in the UK.

Note, use the link in the article to get the add-on as the latest version has some problems while this older version doesn’t. There’s also info for Chrome users there but I can’t comment on their effectiveness as I have only used Firefox.
38

loopyj

10 September 2012 at 11:18 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment

PZ: Echoing the requests of others who can’t view U.S.A.-exclusive video links, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE list the air date/episode number of The Daily Show or Colbert Report excerpts when you post them, so we can go find ‘em online. Would be much appreciated by your international readers. :) Thanks!
39

randay

11 September 2012 at 5:02 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment

Tatetum,

Thanks for one of the best oxymorons ever, “modern conservatism”.