# This country is fucked: Survey says Fox now most trusted name in news. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 26, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580 "2010-01-26T22:32:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/261 "2010-02-03T16:00:12Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I find these statements to be somewhat at odds with one another. you’ll have to help me out as to why ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/262 "2010-02-03T16:12:26Z")
Well, you’ve been arguing throughout this whole thread that truth is irrelevant and only perception matters. Who cares if Fox News is trustworthy, people _believe_ it’s trustworthy. Who cares if global warming is happening, people _believe_ that it isn’t. Then you come up with > [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > Unless you are blinded by an agenda and refuse to see the truth. Your call. What is this truth you speak of? We all have our perceptions, and that’s what counts. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/263 "2010-02-03T16:24:45Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Well, you’ve been arguing throughout this whole thread that truth is irrelevant and only perception matters. Who cares if Fox News is trustworthy, people _believe_ it’s trustworthy. Who cares if global warming is happening, people _believe_ that it isn’t. > > Then you come up with > > What is this truth you speak of? We all have our perceptions, and that’s what counts. ahh, now I see what you were getting at. You’re right - I guess when it comes to the ‘truth’ of whether CBS was involved in biased, non-objective reporting of those memos, as a means to get their guy into the whitehouse, it does become a matter of perception: To me it’s nearly prima facie, or as close as you can get without a smoking gun. To others, evidently, not so much. Your comparison is a little bit apples and oranges - one is referring to a plurality of America’s take on who’s to be trusted (which itself is a truth - at least if you believe the poll), and the other is referring ot one person’s perception of events and drawing (what seems to me) to be a logical conclusion but to others may seem to be laden with doubt. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/264 "2010-02-03T16:27:13Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > Well, again you are confusing people’s perception with what your ‘facts’ (which are in dispute, but I’ll resist the threadjack lure). > > You didn’t link to the Fox ‘misinformation’ about Climate Change (can’t call it Global Warming I guess, as it’s damn cold these days), so I have no way to judge. I did already, but by this time the coward label suits you well. > [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > But let’s assume, just between the two of us, they have been saying it’s in doubt, that it’s not settled science. That’s actually [what](http://people-press.org/report/556/global-warming) people believe. Once again, most people do not believe in evolution, that does not mean that evidence is overwhelming in favor of it because most people think so. > [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > So, putting aside whether Global Warming is happening, human caused, etc… The PERCEPTION of people is that Fox is telling them what they already believe. Which is WHY THEY ARE THE MOST TRUSTED. Remember, there are almost twice as many conservatives as there are liberals in America - Fox is better aligned with what they want to hear. Seems like good business to me. So, it does not matter that future business will be affected in America and elsewhere (And this is including GW and Health care) everything will be the bees knees by being happy that we have a media outfit that misleads a good chunk of the population. > [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > You and others continue to decry that they are lying, they are convincing people that HCR is bad so they are getting people killed through lack of care, isn’t that worse than tyring to throw an election through falsified memos, etc. You completely miss the point. You need to forget about whether they are ‘right’ or not, from your point of view, as it _ **doesn’t matter** _. > > That’d be some intellectual honesty I’d like to see. :rolleyes: There is nothing intellectual by continuing to insist a popular argument is good enough to leave the situation as it is, or to pretend that one is an independent by insisting we should be happy with the current state of affairs. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/265 "2010-02-03T16:39:33Z")
There were literally [dozens of teabaggers](http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2010/02/03/dozens_pro_and_con_demonstrate_outside/) thronging to protest Obama yesterday. Including the lady in the picture. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/266 "2010-02-03T16:42:09Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > You’re right - I guess when it comes to the ‘truth’ of whether CBS was involved in biased, non-objective reporting of those memos, as a means to get their guy into the whitehouse, it does become a matter of perception: To me it’s nearly prima facie, or as close as you can get without a smoking gun. To others, evidently, not so much. As for reading comprehension, I already pointed out before that I did not defend CBS, and yes, the point still stands that influencing people on not voting for a president that was AWOL, is still less reprehensible than telling people misleading information to continue voting for people like Inhofe that continue to spew misinformation and give us inaction on the climate change front. > [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > Your comparison is a little bit apples and oranges - one is referring to a plurality of America’s take on who’s to be trusted (which itself is a truth - at least if you believe the poll), and the other is referring ot one person’s perception of events and drawing (what seems to me) to be a logical conclusion but to others may seem to be laden with doubt. And once again with the reading comprehension, almost all here already grant that that is the case regarding the truth of the poll (But there is still the caveat that not all people follow fox anyhow). Accepting that does not deny the evidence that Fox continues to mislead people, and with the evidence presented the intellectual bankruptcy is now with the side that continues to claim that there is no problem with that. To be a healthy democracy, we need informed citizens, not misinformed ones. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/267 "2010-02-03T16:54:31Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > But it comes with a free Frogurt! But the frogurt’s cursed. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/268 "2010-02-03T17:04:14Z")
What? Nobody going to mention that while every other news station is carrying a live feed of Obama speaking at the Democratic retreat, Fox is not only ignoring it, but talking about how we’re going to be attacked within 6 months. Fox - Cause you’re too stupid to know better. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/269 "2010-02-03T17:09:48Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > You’re right - I guess when it comes to the ‘truth’ of whether CBS was involved in biased, non-objective reporting of those memos, as a means to get their guy into the whitehouse, it does become a matter of perception: To me it’s nearly prima facie, or as close as you can get without a smoking gun. To others, evidently, not so much. Why is this particular case like “apples and oranges” to you? Which truth has been more thoroughly investigated, Dan Rather’s[sup]\*[/sup] motivations in 2004, or global warming? Which one has the smoking gun? There are a lot of objective truths in the world. Go outside and look up in the sky. Either the carbon dioxide that we’ve put there is making the Earth warmer, or it isn’t. Shake your fist and stamp your feet; the laws of Physics don’t care. That sort of thing. And when I see a news organization that gets so many of those objective facts wrong, I’m going to view them with contempt. When I see so many people fail to recognize those errors, I’m going to be disappointed. - Somewhat off topic, but why the continued suspicion of CBS News? The network wasn’t run by Dan Rather and Mary Mapes, it was, and is, run by the people who kicked Dan Rather out. Or is this one of those cases where perception matters more than reality, I can’t keep track. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/270 "2010-02-03T17:35:44Z")
… while Fox is run by Roger Ailes ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/271 "2010-02-03T17:57:59Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > To be a healthy democracy, we need informed citizens, not misinformed ones. Sorry **GIGO** , I’m afraid it’s you who has earned the coward label, if you’re unable to admit even the possibility that the other networks deserve at least some of the blame for the poll results. If you can’t see that, then I think we’re done here. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/272 "2010-02-03T18:00:00Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > Sorry **GIGO** , I’m afraid it’s you who has earned the coward label, if you’re unable to admit even the possibility that the other networks deserve at least some of the blame for the poll results. If you can’t see that, then I think we’re done here. Read again, I already acknowledged that, not only you are a coward, but your act of not understanding what someone is telling you is pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/273 "2010-02-03T18:00:19Z")
Given some of the numbers in the other poll thread currently ongoing in this forum, it seems there’s literally nothing the other networks could have done to keep a sizeable fraction of the populace from dismissing them as liberal mouthpieces. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/274 "2010-02-03T18:43:35Z")
BTW **Mr Smashy** , the video regarding the hacked emails and the links posted early (post #17) show the so called Fox opinion programs with the “FOX NEWS” logo spinning prominently on them while telling viewers about the “evidence” of climate researcher malfeasance, then we have the fox business news show also reporting the same misleading bits. You need explain why it is ok to mislead people about what an opinion shows is. Or why it does not matter. Then you still have to explain why that level of misleading the viewers regarding Climate Change should be allowed to continue with no complaints or recommendations for all to change the channel until they clean up their act. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/275 "2010-02-03T19:00:13Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > BTW **Mr Smashy** , the video regarding the hacked emails and the links posted early (post #17) show the so called Fox opinion programs with the “FOX NEWS” logo spinning prominently on them while telling viewers about the “evidence” of climate researcher malfeasance, then we have the fox business news show also reporting the same misleading bits. > > You need explain why it is ok to mislead people about what an opinion shows is. Or why it does not matter. Then you still have to explain why that level of misleading the viewers regarding Climate Change should be allowed to continue with no complaints or recommendations for all to change the channel until they clean up their act. You want me to watch a couple of youtube videos that some Fox-hater put together, as if they are a cite for anything. I get it, you don’t like Fox. I’ll stipulate that you don’t like Fox. You claim that they mislead people (supposedly more often than the other networks do). Fine. Roger that. I understand that you are trying to put me in the position of defending Fox. In other words, you can’t win an argument on the merits so you try to change the argument. you say > [@](#): > > Then you still have to explain why that level of misleading the viewers regarding Climate Change should be allowed to continue with no complaints or recommendations for all to change the channel until they clean up their act. Evidently, you don’t get it (still). Whether they are right or wrong is completely besides the point. So, let me ask you a direct question. A question that you probably won’t answer, but I’ll ask anyway. Do you put any of the ‘blame’ for Fox being the most trusted network, on the other ‘mainstream’ networks? [] Yes [] No ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/276 "2010-02-03T19:01:40Z")
In the history books of the future, the late 20th century will be divided into events that occurred before Rathergate, and events that occurred after that shattering, cataclysmic moment. Perhaps Fox’s cheerleading for an immoral, ruinously expensive war might be mentioned in the footnotes, somewhere, if only to present some sense of scale, to remind us how puny a hundred thousand innocent lives snuffed out really is, in comparison to the abysmal horror of Rathergate. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/277 "2010-02-03T19:27:16Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > You want me to watch a couple of youtube videos that some Fox-hater put together, as if they are a cite for anything. I get it, you don’t like Fox. I’ll stipulate that you don’t like Fox. You claim that they mislead people (supposedly more often than the other networks do). Fine. Roger that. Epic fail, one of the videos was made by a science reporter, Fox is one of the sources that mislead the people. The focus of the video is to deal with the misleading unscientific information regarding the CRU hack. Telling others that the reporters in those videos are just FOX haters is beyond stupid. > [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > I understand that you are trying to put me in the position of defending Fox. In other words, you can’t win an argument on the merits so you try to change the argument. > > you say > > Evidently, you don’t get it (still). Whether they are right or wrong is completely besides the point. And since I granted most of your weak points, you are still not getting that I’m not talking about them. > [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > So, let me ask you a direct question. A question that you probably won’t answer, but I’ll ask anyway. > > Do you put any of the ‘blame’ for Fox being the most trusted network, on the other ‘mainstream’ networks? > > [] Yes > > [] No Yes. As any idiot would gather when I posted earlier that I said “good riddance” to Dan Rather. Now, would you stop being a coward and check that what Fox news is doing with the news is misleading? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/278 "2010-02-03T19:56:21Z")
> [@Mr\_Smashy](#): > > Do you put any of the ‘blame’ for Fox being the most trusted network, on the other ‘mainstream’ networks? > > [**X**] Yes > > [] No I’ll check that box. Fox is culpable for the absolutely orchestrated and intentional campaign of lies it tells. Among their lies is the notion that they’re they only ones that can be trusted – the mock war with the so-called “mainstream media.” They are guilty of getting those with challenged critical thinking skills to mimic their bleating and help build a veneer of credibility. In other words, their conservative viewpoint notwithstanding, they are a cancer on democratic principles. That they have an agenda to push is irrelevant. It’s their lies that are evil. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/279 "2010-02-03T22:44:35Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Yes. As any idiot would gather when I posted earlier that I said “good riddance” to Dan Rather. > > Now, would you stop being a coward and check that what Fox news is doing with the news is misleading? Hey, good for you! You were able to answer the question at hand. The question you seem to want me to answer, however, is outside the scope of the OP. You could start another thread I suppose, _Is Fox News to be Trusted?_ or something like that. I’m sure the lefty Amen Corner that is this board could be nudged into responding. Please feel free to continue the insults. Honestly it doesn’t bother me. All I will end up doing is ignoring you - like I do with **Lobo** (who has nothing of interest to add to conversations, all he does is say people who disagree with his skewed views have a _whore mouth_). ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Smashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mr\_Smashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Smashy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580/280 "2010-02-03T22:47:56Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I’ll check that box. Fox is culpable for the absolutely orchestrated and intentional campaign of lies it tells. Among their lies is the notion that they’re they only ones that can be trusted – the mock war with the so-called “mainstream media.” They are guilty of getting those with challenged critical thinking skills to mimic their bleating and help build a veneer of credibility. In other words, their conservative viewpoint notwithstanding, they are a cancer on democratic principles. That they have an agenda to push is irrelevant. It’s their lies that are evil. This was pretty much the theory of **Kobal** , and it has some merit IMHO. My guess is that Rupert, being a very good businessman, saw a market opening based on what correctly assumed was an increasing distrust of the other media outlets, and they’ve done all they can to slot themselves in alignment with a plurality of Americans (hence the OP poll results). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-country-is-fucked-survey-says-fox-now-most-trusted-name-in-news/526580.md?page=15)