Is Fox News really all that bad?

[jsc1953]

I was curious as to how they were reacting, so I took one for the team and watched a few minutes of Hannity on Friday.

Apparently the talking points now are to pretend the whole “Democrat hoax!” thing never happened. He spent his time praising Trump’s decisive leadership, outlining all the steps and decision points made during the course of the crisis – virus identified, national health emergency declared, travel from China restricted. All technically true, but it ignores the too-little-too-late aspects, and also he never mentioned Trump’s bonkers commentary that went counter to all these points.

He then pivoted to how Obama handled H1N1. There’s always an opportunity to blame Obama.

[ThelmaLou]

@jsc1953

I was curious as to how they were reacting, so I took one for the team and watched a few minutes of Hannity on Friday.

…

Thanks for doing that. You’re a stronger person than I am. *<Eschewing a handshake, **ThelmaLou *blows a dry kiss from across the miles>

[TonySinclair]

@JohnT

It goes to legal liability and the need to protect the employees and financial viability of the larger Fox organization. Will be extremely difficult to fight off the lawsuits brought about just by your own employees if you allow a division of your company to lie about Captain Trumps while your HR department is shouting “Fire!”

Yeah, Fox cares about money, not about crazy. Lou Dobbs, Hannity, and Jeanine Pirro say crazier shit almost every show.

[Section_Maker_Jupe]

I try and keep up with Fox here and there, see what the enemy is doing.
I cant handle it anymore. Makes me want to march to Fox news headquarters and hit the button on my PND…(personal nuclear device) I joke, having trouble getting parts:eek:

[running_coach]

@Section_Maker_Jupe

I try and keep up with Fox here and there, see what the enemy is doing.
I cant handle it anymore. Makes me want to march to Fox news headquarters and hit the button on my PND…(personal nuclear device) I joke, having trouble getting parts:eek:

Parts are easy, It’s the fissionable materials that are hard to find.

[silenus]

This morning they broadcast Devin Nunes telling everybody to go out and socialize.

For that they should lose their broadcasting license forever.

[JohnT]

It is inevitable that there will be multiple lawsuits hurled NewsCorps way when this is over. My ‘pulled out of my ass’ theory of the moment is this clip, and maybe the entire appearance, was generated specifically to provide legal cover to Fox.

[bengangmo]

@silenus

This morning they broadcast Devin Nunes telling everybody to go out and socialize.

For that they should lose their broadcasting license forever.

If they deserve to lose their license - what should happen to Nunes?

At what point does freedom of speech turn into yelling 'Fire" in a crowded theater?
And is that threshold lower for a someone that should know better?

[whitetho]

@silenus

This morning they broadcast Devin Nunes telling everybody to go out and socialize.

For that they should lose their broadcasting license forever.

Cable TV networks in the United States aren’t licensed.

[eschereal]

@bengangmo

At what point does freedom of speech turn into yelling 'Fire" in a crowded theater?

It sounds more like Nunes is saying “Ignore that flickering. There are no flames here. This is fine.”

[John_Stamos_Left_Ear]

The Washington Post tweeted a video that shows starkly the, uh, evolution of thought at Fox News with their COVID-19 coverage.

[RTFirefly]

@John_Stamos_Left_Ear

The Washington Post tweeted a video that shows starkly the, uh, evolution of thought at Fox News with their COVID-19 coverage.

I opened this thread just to post that, but you beat me to it!

Truly ‘Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia’ stuff. They’ve turned on a dime, following Dear Leader, and it would surprise the hell out of me if they’re making the least mention of what they were saying a week ago.

[GIGObuster]

Lou Dobbs in self quarantine after one of his team members tests positive for a liberal hoax…

:smack:

Lou Dobbs Said Media Hyped Coronavirus. Now He’s in Quarantine.

[Some_Schmo]

Fox is to news what McDonald’s is to food. If you live on either of them, you are grossly malnourished.

The final result is talking like Trump. Don’t let this happen to you.

[Mijin]

@John_Stamos_Left_Ear

The Washington Post tweeted a video that shows starkly the, uh, evolution of thought at Fox News with their COVID-19 coverage.

That’s the kind of compilation that will need to be continually updated.

For example, there’s also now a clip of Hannity describing it as a hoax, and then, 9 days later, using his Jedi mind powers to tell his audience he never called it a hoax.

[dasmoocher]

@Mijin

For example, there’s also now a clip of Hannity describing it as a hoax, and then, 9 days later, using his Jedi mind powers to tell his audience he never called it a hoax.

And Hannity and the virus are in the news today:

A disturbing new study suggests Sean Hannity helped spread the coronavirus
Sophisticated new research links Hannity’s coronavirus misinformation to “a greater number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.”

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, media critics have warned that the decision from leading Fox News hosts to downplay the outbreak could cost lives. A new study provides statistical evidence that, in the case of Sean Hannity, that’s exactly what happened.

…

Using both a poll of Fox News viewers over age 55 and publicly available data on television-watching patterns, they calculate that Fox viewers who watched Hannity rather than Carlson were less likely to adhere to social distancing rules, and that areas where more people watched Hannity relative to Carlson had higher local rates of infection and death.

“Greater exposure to Hannity relative to Tucker Carlson Tonight leads to a greater number of COVID-19 cases and deaths,” they write. “A one-standard deviation increase in relative viewership of Hannity relative to Carlson is associated with approximately 30 percent more COVID-19 cases on March 14, and 21 percent more COVID-19 deaths on March 28.”

[TonySinclair]

@dasmoocher

And Hannity and the virus are in the news today:

A disturbing new study suggests Sean Hannity helped spread the coronavirus
Sophisticated new research links Hannity’s coronavirus misinformation to “a greater number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.”

I’d guess this is probably more due to Trump and inherent stupidity than Hannity, because anybody who can watch more than a couple minutes of Hannity without stabbing their eyes with a fork is going to do whatever Trump says.

[John_Stamos_Left_Ear]

@TonySinclair

I’d guess this is probably more due to Trump and inherent stupidity than Hannity, because anybody who can watch more than a couple minutes of Hannity without stabbing their eyes with a fork is going to do whatever Trump says.

Except sometimes it’s Trump getting the talking points from Fox News and not the other way around.

Watch President Trump repeat Fox News talking points

Report: Hannity Gave Trump Post-Orlando Talking Points

Video Shows 30 Times Trump Repeated 'Fox & Friends'

[jsc1953]

@TonySinclair

I’d guess this is probably more due to Trump and inherent stupidity than Hannity, because anybody who can watch more than a couple minutes of Hannity without stabbing their eyes with a fork is going to do whatever Trump says.

Any study along these lines would need to carefully control for all variables. ie, are people stupid because they watch Hannity? Or do they watch Hannity because they’re stupid?

[Ann_Hedonia]

@jsc1953

Any study along these lines would need to carefully control for all variables. ie, are people stupid because they watch Hannity? Or do they watch Hannity because they’re stupid?

I really don’t like Tucker Carlson and I disagree with him about 90% of the time. But Carlson is not a mindless Trump mouthpiece. He has populist views that don’t always line up with Trump’s and those of the Republican orthodoxy. He’s praised Elizabeth Warren’s economic policies. He excoriated Richard Burr for his insider trading, while the other Fox hosts defended him.

So I imagine the subset of Fox viewers that watch Hannity but refuse to watch Carlson consists of extra extra stupid Trump drones, stupid super-spreaders, as it were. The people who absolutely can’t take hearing someone disagree with Trump, on anything, ever.