Fox News: 14 Ways to Brainwash America

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14 Ways Fox News uses propaganda to Brainwash America

The propaganda arm of the right wing

Faux news none of the news none of the time
Good night and good luck

Slate notes that Fox “news” Channel Chairman and architect of the Fox Fear Factory Brainwash, Roger Ailes, is, as far as dime-store Satans go, hard to beat. He is

…a huge tub of a man, like an aged and rotting Pillsbury Doughboy. He relied on his immense media skills to re-sculpt the equally demonic Richard Nixon [and] mastermind the rescue Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush a couple of times. He remembers every slight committed against him and executes precise vendettas against his enemies. According to the liberal mythology, Fox News has polluted our once-pristine political discourse and established Ailes as a vile kingmaker.

Eric Burns, former Fox news media critic, explains Murdoch envisioned his new network as a counterweight to the “left-wing bias” of CNN. “There’s your answer right there to whether Fox News…has an agenda. In other words, the good folks at Fox make it up as they go along as they continue to brainwash their viewers.

From Rolling Stone: the FPM (Fox Propaganda Machine) got rolling when Ailes…embarked on a purge of existing staffers at Fox… He was going to figure out who was liberal or conservative… and try to get rid of the liberals. When Ailes suspected a journalist wasn’t far enough to the right for his tastes, he’d spring an accusation: “Why are you a liberal?” Ailes would force them to defend working at a place like CBS—which he spat out as “the Communist Broadcast System.”

FPM is a Gordian knot of whims, impulses, outright lies, incompetent analyses, fear tactics, global change denial, ad infinitum. This excerpt of 14 propaganda examples the FPM uses to coerce xenophobia was compiled by Dr. Cynthia Boaz. As noted in Orwell’s dystopian 1984, the continual rewriting of history and limiting vocabulary renders people less able to think critically and is highly efficient to effect of control.

1. Panic Mongering. The idea is to terrify and terrorize the audience during every waking moment. When people are afraid, they don’t think rationally. They’ll believe anything.

2. Character Assassination/Ad Hominem. Fox attacks opponents’ credibility, motives, intelligence, character, or, if necessary, sanity.

3. Projection/Flipping. Whatever underhanded tactic their opposition uses, FPM accuses their opponent of doing it to you first. Their short list includes anti-racists accused of racism and ridiculing global change advocates who argue for human causes of the phenomenon of not having science or facts on their side.

4. Rewriting History. Consider Palin’s mangling of the Paul Revere ride, which Fox reporters have bent over backward to validate. Why lie about the historical facts, even when they can be demonstrated to be false? They rewrite history if it serves their interests.

5. Scapegoating. Find a group to blame for social or economic problems, then reporters can: (a) justify violence/dehumanization of them; and (b) subvert responsibility for any harm that may befall them as a result.

6. Conflating Violence With Power and Opposition to Violence With Weakness. FPM uses terms such as “show of strength” to describe acts of repression: force is depicted as noble and moral. Violence becomes synonymous with power, patriotism and piety.

7.  Bullying. Just like any schoolyard bully, the FPM exploits a guest’s lack of confidence by bullying her/him into submission or compliance.

8. Confusion. The FPM will confuse the argument, but insist the logic is airtight and imply that anyone who disagrees is either too dumb or too fanatical to understand.

9. Populism. Speakers identify themselves as one of “the people.” The opponent is always “elitist” or a “bureaucrat” or a “government insider” or some other category that is not “the people.”

10.  Invoking the Christian God. True patriots must be Christians and “real Americans.” Anyone who challenges them is not. Basically, the Christian God loves Fox and Republicans and America.’

11. Saturation. There are three components to effective saturation: being repetitive, ubiquitous, and consistent. Repeat the message over and over, everywhere, and across commentators whether it’s true or even makes sense. A good example of saturation is Fox’s own slogan of “Fair and Balanced.”

12. Disparaging Education. The FPM disparages higher education as elitist and disparages university credentials as a lack of credibility. FPM distains intellect which directly threaten a hive-mind mentality.

13. Guilt by Association. (Sound familiar?) If your cousin’s college roommate’s uncle’s ex-wife attended a dinner party back in 1984 with Gorbachev’s niece’s ex-boyfriend’s sister, then you, by extension are a communist set on destroying America. Period.

14. Diversion. The commentator suddenly takes a debate in a weird but predictable direction to avoid accountability.

Boaz adds: Fox viewership seems to be marked by a sort of collective personality disorder. Fox audiences defend their arguments by pointing [out] a lot of people share the same perception. That a lot of people believe something is not necessarily a sign that it’s true, just effectively marketed. As honest, fair and truly intellectual debate degrades before the eyes of the global media audience, the quality of American democracy degrades also.

The FPM does more than brainwash America, Fox news degrades us, undermines critical thinking and civil discourse, and eats away at Democracy.

About Post Author

Dorothy Anderson

I want to know what you think and why, especially if we disagree. Civil discourse is free speech: practice daily. Always question your perspective.
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12 years ago

Well said, Dorothy. Nice analysis.

12 years ago

Entertainment masquerading as news is a common trait for Rupert Murdoch, he does with his newspapers and publishing empire. He certainly does it with Fox News.

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