Vox on Fox

Vox on Fox. No, this is not a Dr. Seuss book title or quote. It is more akin to a quote from Mark Twain, “It is easier to fool someone than convince him he has been fooled.” Why? Vox has put together two You Tube videos which should heighten your concern over Fox News (see below), which my oldest son shared with me.

One video notes the power and reach of Fox. It traces its origins to a memo of Roger Ailes when he worked for President Richard Nixon. It shows how Fox influences the news covered, even if you don’t watch Fox News. Like a dog chewing on a bone, Fox will overinflate small issues to discredit the Democrat Party. This is why Fox watchers know who AOC is moreso than non-Fox watchers. This is why Benghazi became a bigger issue than it was as determlned early on by a nonpartisan review.

The other video shows their influence on one viewer who occupies the White House. This person has access to some of the best intelligence information in the world, but chooses to be more influenced by Fox and Friends. This must cause great consternation to people who do their darnedest to get it right as they get upstaged by entertainers who can sell a better story to a key listener.

The narrator of the Vox video notes the causal relationship between items said on Fox and Friends and this viewer’s tweets. The narrator notes he counted fifty tweets from this person within three minutes of the story being said on Fox and Friends. And, often the words are verbatim.

Even when I was a Republican, I did not watch Fox News. The opinion folks are simply over-the-top story tellers, who should not be taken serioiusly – Beck, Riley, Hannity, Riviera and so on are caricatures. The ones who found their conscious like Lt. Col. Ralph Peters or Judge Napolitano get vilified for speaking the truth. Peters left offering a condemning resignation letter.

If you do persist in watching Fox, pay more attention to Chris Wallace and Shepard Smith. The are news people. if you get your news from Hannity or Carlson or that viewer’s tweets – do yourself and country a favor and stop. You are being “Twained,”

Just a thought

Where do you get your information? I ask this because our President seems to get his information from less than reliable sources and then criticizes more legitimate sources for disagreeing with him.

Here are a few questions to ask of your sources:

– if a source of information screams at his audience while his head is turning a very scary shade of red, he might not be a good source of information.
– if a source of information has such a raspy voice from shouting at the wind and name calls everyone who he deems appropriate, then he might not be a good source of information.
– if you get your information from Facebook or Twitter, you need to look carefully at sources cited and use the Twitter feed for headlines only to cause you to dig further on more legitimate sources.
– if you are getting your information from a source that must advertise they are fair and balanced to make up for their bias and inconsistent veracity, then you might want to consider another source for validation.
– if you are getting your information from the current President, stop because he is an unreliable source and has been most of his life.

I encourage you to check multiple sources. I am often asked where I get my information. Several places – PBS Newshour, BBC World News America, NPR, Reuters, and The Guardian. I read articles from my browser feed which come from The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, New York Times, Newsweek, Time, etc. And, my local paper, The Charlotte Observee is a good source for local and state news.

A good sign a news source is reputable is they print errata or correct portions of stories that prove to be inaccurate. Admitting mistakes is a sign of intelligence.

I would also ask people who say inane things about their sources. Our President cites a couple of sources that are known for making things up or creating conspiracies. He even put one on the White House. And, he has actually appeared on one where the host is on record that the Sandy Hook massacre was staged, as an example of his lack of veracity.

Before someone claims fake news, he needs to make sure the things he is saying are legitimate whether it is about his electoral college landslide, voter fraud or unemployment or crime rates.