# Is Fox News really all that bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 3, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625 "2012-10-03T21:14:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 107
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2121 "2018-09-11T16:17:57Z")
You could have said “!700 years”, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2122 "2018-09-11T16:54:18Z")
Or “?00” years ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2123 "2018-09-11T17:31:14Z")
And we all know this is a completely ungovernable country (no disrespect for Afghans, but the nature of the terrain and the amount of firepower in the hands of everyone make a strong central government impossible), yet we continue to pour billions per year into trying to turn it into Switzerland. It is never going to happen, how long do we throw good money after bad? ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2124 "2018-09-11T19:11:50Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > And we all know this is a completely ungovernable country (no disrespect for Afghans, but the nature of the terrain and the amount of firepower in the hands of everyone make a strong central government impossible), yet we continue to pour billions per year into trying to turn it into Switzerland. It is never going to happen, how long do we throw good money after bad? How long did the British try? Or the Soviets? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2125 "2018-09-14T12:08:32Z")
I gotta figure the only “solution” for Afghanistan is a city-state model. Forget about the country as a whole, just try to build up some urban centers with surrounding industrial and agricultural land to support them. The residents of the cities will recognize the value of an orderly society and hopefully try to protect their infrastructure. Anyone preferring chaos or feudalism is invited to go live in the wilderness. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2126 "2018-09-14T14:34:21Z")
Yep, makes sense. Only trouble is, you still need good roads for export / import (being truly self-contained is not feasible in the modern age), and the roads are the prime bombing target. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2127 "2018-09-14T16:35:55Z")
Paul Manafort has flipped. Top news on every news site. Except Foxnews. To be fair, it is on their front page if you scroll down past a story about Lena Dunham’s sweatshirt and a Roy Orbison hologram. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2128 "2018-09-14T17:40:00Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Paul Manafort has flipped. Top news on every news site. Except Foxnews. To be fair, it is on their front page if you scroll down past a story about Lena Dunham’s sweatshirt and a Roy Orbison hologram. Sometimes I ask myself, “Self, when did our country become a Bloom County strip, circa 1985?” ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2129 "2018-09-14T17:48:09Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Sometimes I ask myself, “Self, when did our country become a Bloom County strip, circa 1985?” To be fair, the have moved it up, though it’s below a story about Obama, Clinton and Pelosi featuring evil looking pictures of them. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2130 "2018-09-16T18:43:40Z")
I don’t click to FoxNews often, but somehow [this ended up playing on my screen.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxjOEbvdDc8) It’s Tucker Carlson (whom I’d heard of only vaguely if at all) interviewing Michael Avenatti. Throughout the entire segment, “DOES AMERICA WANT CREEPY PORN LAWYER AS PRES?” shows across the screen. No; the screen caption is sometimes changed but always to a variation of that: “CREEPY PORN LAWYER TOYING WITH 2020 RUN”, etc. (Sometimes the “Creepy …” is abbreviated as “CPL.”) Avenatti is given a few seconds to answer each question, then interrupted before he can make a point; Carlson delivering one misleading R-U-still-beating-your-wife question after another. After a while Carlson stops the pretense of even asking questions, just directing insult after foul-mouthed insult. And on and on. I knew Fox was bad, but this went well beyond ridiculous. Humanoids stupid enough to fall for this crap should be euthanized, and certainly not allowed to vote. I absolute admire Avenatti for his patience. If I were interviewed by such a despicable asshole, it’s not entirely impossible that I might be driven almost to the verge of losing my temper! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2131 "2018-09-16T19:00:16Z")
On the other hand, I’d love to have footage of Avenatti pulling a Jon Stewart on Fucker Carlson. It would make my year. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2132 "2018-09-16T19:04:08Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I absolute admire Avenatti for his patience. If I were interviewed by such a despicable asshole, it’s not entirely impossible that I might be driven almost to the verge of losing my temper! And of course, that is the point. You anger someone with such gaslighting until they lose their temper, then use that as an example of angry liberals. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2133 "2018-09-16T19:05:02Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > I don’t click to FoxNews often, but somehow [this ended up playing on my screen.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxjOEbvdDc8) It’s Tucker Carlson (whom I’d heard of only vaguely if at all) interviewing Michael Avenatti. > > Throughout the entire segment, “DOES AMERICA WANT CREEPY PORN LAWYER AS PRES?” shows across the screen. No; the screen caption is sometimes changed but always to a variation of that: “CREEPY PORN LAWYER TOYING WITH 2020 RUN”, etc. (Sometimes the “Creepy …” is abbreviated as “CPL.”) Avenatti is given a few seconds to answer each question, then interrupted before he can make a point; Carlson delivering one misleading R-U-still-beating-your-wife question after another. After a while Carlson stops the pretense of even asking questions, just directing insult after foul-mouthed insult. > > And on and on. I knew Fox was bad, but this went well beyond ridiculous. Humanoids stupid enough to fall for this crap should be euthanized, and certainly not allowed to vote. > > I absolute admire Avenatti for his patience. If I were interviewed by such a despicable asshole, it’s not entirely impossible that I might be driven almost to the verge of losing my temper! Oh this pissed me off so much. I just wanted to throw something at my TV. Avenatti is a better man than Tucker Carlson could ever hope to be. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2134 "2018-09-16T21:53:32Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Tucker Carlson (whom I’d heard of only vaguely if at all) This is a _good_ place. If you are all stressed out, clear your head and retreat to the safety of Tucker Carlson being a vaprous notion that evaporates before you with a satisfying soap-bubble-pop. A place where the only bow-tie you can remember having seen was on Bill Nye. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2135 "2018-09-18T03:45:08Z")
This is a very old clip, probably older than the OP, but it was new to me: [FOX news misleading clip](https://youtu.be/_HzIrvoc-vg?t=6m34s) The reason I’m sharing it, despite it’s age, is that it’s a perfect distillation of what’s wrong with FOX. Think of the contempt for their own viewers: they know their viewers don’t care about objective truth, and in the unlikely event they later see the whole sentence in context, they’d handwave it and go on believing what they want to believe (rather than do the rational thing and abandon FOX as a source). And contempt for the actual issues. Instead of actually engaging with what Obama said, they only have interest in scoring points, no matter how low they have to scrape. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2136 "2018-09-18T07:01:09Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > This is a _good_ place. If you are all stressed out, clear your head and retreat to the safety of Tucker Carlson being a vaprous notion that evaporates before you with a satisfying soap-bubble-pop. A place where the only bow-tie you can remember having seen was on Bill Nye. Eh, I dunno. If you’ve got stress to deal with and a heavy bag, you could do worse than imagining Tucker Carlson is opening his mouth and breathing in as he’s about to say something insultingly asinine and racist just as your punch crashes into the bag. Over and over and over. I mean for most people their mother-in-law or boss suffices, but sometimes you really got \*issues \*to work out. Do note that Hannity is also very well purpose-built for stress relief, although maybe more appropriate for batting practice than boxing. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2138 "2018-09-27T00:05:23Z")
More typical Fox behavior: [Fox News roasted on Twitter after editing out world leaders laughing at Trump](https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/fox-news-edits-trump/) > [@](#): > > During Trump’s UN speech to the assembly, Fox News uploaded two clips that circumvented the awkward moment. In the first clip, Fox cut off Trump’s speech as soon as he finished saying that the U.S. has accomplished more than any other presidential administration. > > Three minutes later, Fox posted a second excerpt for viewers, this time beginning right after the uncomfortable moment had ended. This effectively cut out the entire moment, from world leaders snickering at Trump to the entire assembly bursting out in laughter. For Fox viewers checking their Twitter timelines during the event, it was almost as if the moment had never happened at all. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2139 "2018-09-27T14:38:46Z")
> [@SmartAlecCat](#): > > More typical Fox behavior: > > [Fox News roasted on Twitter after editing out world leaders laughing at Trump](https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/fox-news-edits-trump/) Why would Fox cut out the portion of the speech? Trump was dropping funny bombs all over the place: Laughing at Trump? FAKE NEWS! Laughing with Trump? Oh, yeah!! ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2140 "2018-09-27T14:59:31Z")
Hypothetically, “Of course we edited out the UN laughing at Trump, we also edited out the UN giving Obama standing ovations . . . what part of Fair and Balanced do you not understand?” CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2018, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/2141 "2018-09-27T15:10:53Z")
I’m not familiar with the history of this story, but Fox News showed a clip of the UN laughing at Trump’s success claims last night. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625.md?page=106) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625.md?page=108)