# Is Fox News really all that bad?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625>\
**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:** 61

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**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1201 "2016-09-29T20:35:56Z")

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They were in the same room.

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**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1202 "2016-10-05T19:35:58Z")

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OK, so _The O’Reilly Factor_ sent some guy named Jesse Watters to New York’s Chinatown to sample political opinion there. According to one [report](http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/10/05/fox-news-correspondent-goes-chinatown-produces-incredibly-racist-segment/213552), Watters approached people on the street and solicited their opinions on such topics as:

“Am I supposed to bow to say hello?”  
“Tell me what’s not made in China.”  
“Do you know karate?”

The key questions of this cycle. During the segment, Watters signaled that this was a serious news segment in his choice of music, the classic “Kung Fu Fighting”. He further showed his journalistic chops by miming karate moves for the camera. I remember when Ted Koppel used to do that on his show. You don’t see newsmen going the extra mile like that anymore.

Now, as you’d expect, the offenderati in the liberal media got all bent out of shape, calling this segment things like “the most offensive television segment I’ve ever seen”, “one of the most blatantly racist things I have ever seen”, and “beyond words offensive and disgraceful”. It’s getting to where people can’t say _anything_ any more.  
Disclaimers: 1) I have not watched the original clip yet; 2) yes, I know Media Matters is not an unbiased source.

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**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1203 "2016-10-05T20:51:57Z")

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I just watched the clip: He actually asked a shopkeeper “Are these watches ‘hot’?”

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**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1204 "2016-10-05T21:43:34Z")

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> [@Bayard](#):
>
> OK, so The O’Reilly Factor sent some guy named Jesse Watters to New York’s Chinatown to sample political opinion there… During the segment, Watters signaled that this was a serious news segment in his choice of music, the classic “Kung Fu Fighting”. He further showed his journalistic chops by miming karate moves for the camera. I remember when Ted Koppel used to do that on his show. You don’t see newsmen going the extra mile like that anymore.

Yeah, Eric Sevareid had a mean spinning back kick.

Anybody amazed at Trump’s Teflon-ness wasn’t paying attention last year when O’Reilly was caught in all kinds of lies and embellishments about his history and reporting. He claimed to have rescued his cameraman during a riot in Argentina with bullets flying; the cameraman said there was no riot, no bullets, and no danger.

Big Bill also claimed to have seen various murders in Central America and Northern Ireland; it turned out that the closest he had come was seeing pictures of said violence.

Best of all, he claimed to have been right outside the door and heard the shotgun blast when someone connected to the Kennedy assassination killed himself in Florida. He is [on tape](http://money.cnn.com/video/media/2015/03/01/bill-oreilly-jfk-tapes.cnnmoney?iid=EL) hearing about the suicide for the first time, making it clear that he didn’t know that a gun was used, and that he had never heard of the town where the suicide occurred.

No worries. He just blamed the liberal media for trying to smear him, and stuck by his story, as did Fox News, as did the publisher of his book, _Killing Kennedy_. And the Fox News viewers believed him, rather than the tape and his colleagues of the time. His ratings actually went up.

So if Trump was watching, and didn’t already know it, he learned that there are millions of Americans who will believe what they want to believe, even when there is ironclad evidence that they are being lied to.

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**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1205 "2016-10-17T15:29:12Z")

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Well, Shepard Smith just [confirmed he is gay.](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/shep-smith-comes-out-defends-ailes?utm_content=buffer16aaa&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer)

However, Ailes was kewl with that, so it’s totes OK!

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**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1206 "2016-10-17T15:46:14Z")

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> [@JohnT](#):
>
> Well, Shepard Smith just [confirmed he is gay.](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/shep-smith-comes-out-defends-ailes?utm_content=buffer16aaa&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer)
> 
> However, Ailes was kewl with that, so it’s totes OK!

That’s interesting, but it’s just a small part of a bigger story: [_Is Fox News really getting better?_](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/shep-smith-fox-news-interview_us_5800f0d1e4b06e0475944919) It seems the answer may be yes, thanks in a large part to a strengthening of the news department and Shep himself.

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**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1207 "2016-12-22T19:38:18Z")

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It’s way past time we dusted off this thread. There must have been plenty of examples of Fox being “all that bad” since the last post, but I imagine they got drowned out amid all the stories of 1/2 the goddamned country being all that bad.

So here’s a little something to remind us that Fox is fucking loony. An elementary school in Pennsylvania has canceled its traditional Christmas production of _A Christmas Carol_. The school says it was canceled because the school no longer wanted to take the 15-20 hours it required to produce it out of classroom time.

But Fox knows better! You see, three months prior to the announcement, a Jewish family had asked if their son could be excused from the play. The school agreed. And that should have been that. A local non-story about a Jewish family who didn’t want their son to have to attend a play, and a school that later decided to just call it off anyway because it took too much time. Nope! Fox and Breitbart have flogged this story as another battle in the War on Christmas, in which godfearing Christians can’t even put on a religious-themed play in a public school without some Jews fucking it up for everyone. After seeing the stories, and more worryingly the comments, online, the family who were blamed for this has decided to leave the area, saying they feared “another pizza incident”.

> **[Fox’s “War On Christmas” Prompts Jewish Family To Fear “Pizzagate”-Style...](https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-friends/foxs-war-christmas-prompts-jewish-family-fear-pizzagate-style-response)**

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**Author:** ![Calico\_Jack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calico_jack/32/7320_2.png) [@Calico\_Jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calico_Jack)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1208 "2016-12-22T20:02:06Z")

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> [@Aeschines](#):
>
> First off, I’m very liberal.
> 
> Second off, I watch almost zero TV news. I catch it at my parents (not necessarily Fox), doctors’ offices, and times like that. I do see a bunch of clips all the time of Fox News programs such as those featuring Hannity and O’Reilly. And sometimes it’s a clip of an ordinary Fox News story, not necessarily anything political. That doesn’t mean, however, that I haven’t watched large chunks of Fox News over the past few years. I interpret at doctors’ offices and often am waiting for patients. For some reason, Fox News is a popular choice to have on.
> 
> I think Hannity and O’Reilly are buffoons, but their programs are obviously and explicitly Conservative in message. One may blame the Fox Network for carrying such crap, but I don’t, really. There’s no hidden agenda, and those shows are fulfilling a demand for that message. In any case, I don’t think those shows taint Fox News itself.
> 
> So, what about Fox News? It’s slogan is, “Fair and Balanced.” People, especially liberals, accuse it of being blatantly pro-Conservative. The thing is, when I’ve watched it, it’s seemed like your typical stupid network news without a whole of lot bias either way. Plus, they have some hot blondes on there, which is nice.
> 
> I find network news to be boring and Conservative as a default setting. No matter what, it seems to reinforce the status quo. Keep calm and carry on, as the Brits used to say. No huge need for change, although there are problems problems problems, and isn’t that interesting? Yesssss, watch. Watch more. Consume more. And… be happy (THX-1138).
> 
> Fox News seems well-produced with competent newscasters (some of whom are hot blondes). It does seem to tell the basic news without too much of a slant; which is to say, it’s slanted toward the status quo–just like all news shows. There is nothing truly excellent about it, yet there doesn’t seem to be anything _exceptionally_ execrable about it either.
> 
> TL;DR: Fox News is Conservative, but all network news shows ares fundamentally Conservative, inasmuch as they subtly and unsubtly validate the status quo.
> 
> What do you think?

Well according to Pew Research, MSNBC was found to be the most biased of the 3 cable news networks, with Fox coming in second behind CNN:

[http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/03/18/pew-study-finds-msnbc-the-most-opinionated-cable-news-channel-by-far/&refURL=http://www.forbes.com/&referrer=http://www.forbes.com/](http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/03/18/pew-study-finds-msnbc-the-most-opinionated-cable-news-channel-by-far/&refURL=http://www.forbes.com/&referrer=http://www.forbes.com/)

I don’t watch cable news anyway, I’d say shows like Hannity and O’Reilly are no more biased than shows like The Young Turks, problem is that partisan hacks live in their own fantasy world detached from reality around them, and view their opinion as equivalent to the word of God, therefore anything which differs from their opinion is automatically ‘biased’ by default.

And anyone who’s only “news” outlet is Hannity or Jon Stewart is to blame if they end up with a dumbed-down misinformed worldview. There are plenty of libraries, free ebook resources on the internet, etc so in the 21st century there’s no excuse for being patently uneducated unless you’re just don’t care.

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**Author:** ![Calico\_Jack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calico_jack/32/7320_2.png) [@Calico\_Jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calico_Jack)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1209 "2016-12-22T20:04:31Z")

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> [@Bayard](#):
>
> It’s way past time we dusted off this thread. There must have been plenty of examples of Fox being “all that bad” since the last post, but I imagine they got drowned out amid all the stories of 1/2 the goddamned country being all that bad.
> 
> So here’s a little something to remind us that Fox is fucking loony. An elementary school in Pennsylvania has canceled its traditional Christmas production of _A Christmas Carol_. The school says it was canceled because the school no longer wanted to take the 15-20 hours it required to produce it out of classroom time.
> 
> But Fox knows better! You see, three months prior to the announcement, a Jewish family had asked if their son could be excused from the play. The school agreed. And that should have been that. A local non-story about a Jewish family who didn’t want their son to have to attend a play, and a school that later decided to just call it off anyway because it took too much time. Nope! Fox and Breitbart have flogged this story as another battle in the War on Christmas, in which godfearing Christians can’t even put on a religious-themed play in a public school without some Jews fucking it up for everyone. After seeing the stories, and more worryingly the comments, online, the family who were blamed for this has decided to leave the area, saying they feared “another pizza incident”.
> 
> [http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/12/22/fox-s-war-christmas-prompts-jewish-family-flee-fearing-pizzagate-style-response/214900](http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/12/22/fox-s-war-christmas-prompts-jewish-family-flee-fearing-pizzagate-style-response/214900)

Well it doesn’t help that there are indeed groups out there deluded enough to be bothered by a local school hosting a Christmas play:

> **[American Atheists: 'Make Christmas Great Again' by skipping church](https://www.foxnews.com/us/american-atheists-make-christmas-great-again-by-skipping-church)**
>
> American Atheists, one of the nation's largest secular groups, has released its Christmas 2016 billboard ad campaigns in which it uses President-elect Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan to encourage young people to skip church.

Can’t totally blame Fox for possibly getting this wrong, when there have been plenty of legitimate incidents to go on. Some of these secular groups pretty much write their own “War on Christmas” stories and save Fox the trouble, lol

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**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1210 "2016-12-22T20:05:52Z")

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> [@Calico\_Jack](#):
>
> Well it doesn’t help that there are indeed groups out there deluded enough to be bothered by a local school hosting a Christmas play:
> 
> [American Atheists: 'Make Christmas Great Again' by skipping church | Fox News](http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/12/05/american-atheists-make-christmas-great-again-by-skipping-church.html)
> 
> Can’t totally blame Fox for possibly getting this wrong, when there have been plenty of legitimate incidents to go on. Some of these secular groups pretty much write their own “War on Christmas” stories and save Fox the trouble, lol

Legitimate? Offering alternatives to religion is not a “war”. Discussion isn’t war.

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**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:** [December 22, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1211 "2016-12-22T20:10:05Z")

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> [@Bayard](#):
>
> He further showed his journalistic chops by miming karate moves.

I see what you did there and I do not approve, young man.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Calico\_Jack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calico_jack/32/7320_2.png) [@Calico\_Jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calico_Jack)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1212 "2016-12-22T20:10:51Z")

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> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> Legitimate? _Offering alternatives to religion_

We already have that, it’s called staying home from church on Xmas and watching NBA.

> [@](#):
>
> is not a “war”. Discussion isn’t war.

Potato potahto. Fact is there are indeed secularist groups who have their panties in such a wad that a local school in a different state hosting a Christmas pageant is enough to get them hot and bothered. So I guess if Fox just called it something other than “war” then it’d be hunkie dorie then.

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**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1213 "2016-12-22T20:18:57Z")

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> [@Calico\_Jack](#):
>
> We already have that, it’s called staying home from church on Xmas and watching NBA.

So there’s only one alternative, and that’s it? No other possibilities?

> [@](#):
>
> Potato potahto. Fact is there are indeed secularist groups who have their panties in such a wad that a local school in a different state hosting a Christmas pageant is enough to get them hot and bothered. So I guess if Fox just called it something other than “war” then it’d be hunkie dorie then.

This doesn’t accurately describe the recently linked article about the christmas play.

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1214 "2016-12-22T20:22:33Z")

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> [@Calico\_Jack](#):
>
> Well according to Pew Research, MSNBC was found to be the most biased of the 3 cable news networks, with Fox coming in second behind CNN:
> 
> [http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/03/18/pew-study-finds-msnbc-the-most-opinionated-cable-news-channel-by-far/&refURL=http://www.forbes.com/&referrer=http://www.forbes.com/](http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/03/18/pew-study-finds-msnbc-the-most-opinionated-cable-news-channel-by-far/&refURL=http://www.forbes.com/&referrer=http://www.forbes.com/)

Or, Fox ‘News’ lies 60% of the time – more than any other network.

> **[MSNBC, Fox, CNN move the needle on our Truth-O-Meter scorecards](https://www.politifact.com/article/2015/jan/27/msnbc-fox-cnn-move-needle-our-truth-o-meter-scorec/)**
>
> MSNBC and CNN have improved ever so slightly on our TV network scorecards, while Fox News has moved a touch in the oppos

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Calico\_Jack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calico_jack/32/7320_2.png) [@Calico\_Jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calico_Jack)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1215 "2016-12-22T20:24:11Z")

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> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> So there’s only one alternative, and that’s it? No other possibilities?

If the alternative is posting stupid billboards with stupid logos ripped off from a Trump campaign, then honestly you’d be better off just giving the priest oral favor in the confessional on Christmas.

> [@](#):
>
> This doesn’t accurately describe the recently linked article about the christmas play.

Read up on the history of “American Atheists” and related groups, and they give more than enough to work with. They might as well just be paid by Fox for writing their own “War on Christmas stories” for them. And then atheists wonder why they’re so disliked by the average Joe, these groups which claim to represent all atheists just confirm all of the negative Fox News stereotypes about them, lol

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1216 "2016-12-22T20:25:29Z")

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> [@Calico\_Jack](#):
>
> If the alternative is posting stupid billboards with stupid logos ripped off from a Trump campaign, then honestly you’d be better off just giving the priest oral favor in the confessional on Christmas.

I’m pretty sure those logos predate the Trump campaign. But if you’re right, then at worst it does nothing.

> [@](#):
>
> Read up on the history of “American Atheists” and related groups, and they give more than enough to work with. They might as well just be paid by Fox for writing their own “War on Christmas stories” for them.

I’m very familiar with these groups. Criticism and challenges and discussion aren’t “war”.

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**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1217 "2016-12-22T20:36:00Z")

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> [@Kobal2](#):
>
> I see what you did there and I do not approve, young man.

Actually, I can’t remember if I did that on purpose or not. I’ll claim it, though!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Calico\_Jack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calico_jack/32/7320_2.png) [@Calico\_Jack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calico_Jack)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1218 "2016-12-22T20:41:10Z")

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> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> I’m very familiar with these groups. Criticism and challenges and discussion aren’t “war”.

You could find more intelligent “criticism and discussion” on 4chan than anything this group has put out. They’re to atheists what groups like “American Family Association” who protest Geico commercials for supposedly encouraging relations with animals are to religion.

[http://www.alternet.org/files/story\_images/american-atheists-censored-billboard-via-screencap-800x430.png](http://www.alternet.org/files/story_images/american-atheists-censored-billboard-via-screencap-800x430.png)

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**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1219 "2016-12-22T20:51:46Z")

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> [@Calico\_Jack](#):
>
> Well it doesn’t help that there are indeed groups out there deluded enough to be bothered by a local school hosting a Christmas play:
> 
> [American Atheists: 'Make Christmas Great Again' by skipping church | Fox News](http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/12/05/american-atheists-make-christmas-great-again-by-skipping-church.html)

But that article doesn’t show that. In fact, I can’t find anything on American Atheists attacking Christmas plays. I can find a single article from “Charisma News”, a website touting headlines like “Ex-Witch Reveals Connection Between Yoga and Satan”, claiming with no cited sources that the Freedom From Religion Foundation went after schools promoting Christianity - a violation of the first amendment. I am willing to bet that the FFRF would stop going for those lawsuits if they stopped winning or if local governments stopped using their power to support one religion above any other, which current jurisprudence rightfully considers unconstitutional. It’s not a “war on Christmas” to point out that the government cannot promote a particular religion.

> [@Calico\_Jack](#):
>
> If the alternative is posting stupid billboards with stupid logos ripped off from a Trump campaign, then honestly you’d be better off just giving the priest oral favor in the confessional on Christmas.
> 
> Read up on the history of “American Atheists” and related groups, and they give more than enough to work with. They might as well just be paid by Fox for writing their own “War on Christmas stories” for them. And then atheists wonder why they’re so disliked by the average Joe, these groups which claim to represent all atheists just confirm all of the negative Fox News stereotypes about them, lol

Can you name a single instance where American Atheists, Freedom From Religion Foundation, or any similar group has filed suit against private citizens on their private property having _anything_ to do with their celebration of Christmas? Can you name a single instance where they went after a Christmas celebration where the issue was not “the government is promoting one religion above any other”? This isn’t a war on Christmas. This is a war on unconstitutional behavior and undue privilege.

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**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-fox-news-really-all-that-bad/636625/1220 "2016-12-22T20:56:03Z")

</div>

> [@Calico\_Jack](#):
>
> You could find more intelligent “criticism and discussion” on 4chan than anything this group has put out. They’re to atheists what groups like “American Family Association” who protest Geico commercials for supposedly encouraging relations with animals are to religion.
> 
> [http://www.alternet.org/files/story\_images/american-atheists-censored-billboard-via-screencap-800x430.png](http://www.alternet.org/files/story_images/american-atheists-censored-billboard-via-screencap-800x430.png)

Well shoot, how much of a nuanced argument do you want on a highway billboard? It’s a _highway billboard_.

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