How to recognize propaganda in Fox News

Fox News: Nothing more than a massive propaganda machine.

Every day that passes and I hear more shameless propaganda pump out of the Fox News machine, I get a bit sicker. I think it hits so close to home because a couple relatives are caught up in it so much that critical thought and self accountability have flown out the window.

I am constantly conflicted. At times I think we need to fight back with truth and other times I see the fruitlessness of trying to have a reasonable conversation with somebody is is obviously been brainwashed by a 24 hour news network. I caught up to a good editorial by Eric Deggans talking about the latest Glen Beck stunt at Lincoln Memorial. I've found myself reading a lot about the responses to this shameless attention grab.

To me it goes beyond the simple disagreements of conservative and liberal camps. To me this is a indication of a new "age of astonishing propaganda" that is creeping up on us. I decided to start rounding up some resources on just what propaganda is. of course we start at Wikipeida. Some notable excerpts from the page are below. As you read this, ask, "Can I find evidence of this in Fox News?"

• Propaganda, in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience.
• Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented.
• Propaganda can be used as a form of political warfare.
• Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions
• Propaganda is generally an appeal to emotion, not intellect.
• In English, "propaganda" was originally a neutral term used to describe the dissemination of information in favor of any given cause. During the 20th century, however, the term acquired a thoroughly negative meaning in western countries, representing the intentional dissemination of often false, but certainly "compelling" claims to support or justify political actions or ideologies.
• Journalistic theory generally holds that news items should be objective, giving the reader an accurate background and analysis of the subject at hand.
• Propaganda, in this sense, serves as a corollary to censorship in which the same purpose is achieved, not by filling people's minds with approved information, but by preventing people from being confronted with opposing points of view.
• Propaganda is a powerful weapon in war; it is used to dehumanize and create hatred toward a supposed enemy, either internal or external, by creating a false image in the mind.
• The assumption is that, if people believe something false, they will constantly be assailed by doubts. Since these doubts are unpleasant (cognitive dissonance), people will be eager to have them extinguished, and are therefore receptive to the reassurances of those in power.
• Common media for transmitting propaganda messages include news reports, government reports, historical revision, junk science, books, leaflets, movies, radio, television, and posters.
• Propaganda campaigns often follow a strategic transmission pattern to indoctrinate the target group.

Just a couple things jump out at me on the first read. Would I agree that Fox News is trying to heavily influence there audience? Yes indeed. Each day a set 'message' or 'narrative' is passed down from the top. You'll hear the same message in all shows throughout the day. We've seen this with "Death Panels" during healthcare.

Does Fox hold true to journalistic integrity by giving the viewer an accurate background. No. I remember during healthcare how they ran around the streets looking for opinions on the bill. Funny how everybody they found was against it. Also try to absorb the idea of "serves as a corollary to censorship".

Ask yourself why the Fox propaganda machine is so powerful. My belief is because they have an audience who largely doesn't know how to use a computer to get information on the internet. It's mostly older people who are quite satisfied to watch all news on TV. By controlling their only path to news, Fox controls the entire message and has the distinct ability to leave certain parts out. The wikipedia post is rich in information and I highly suggest a hot cup of coffee and a long read of it. Pay especial attention towards the bottom where several methods are outlined such as:

• Bandwagon
• Appeal to Fear
• Join the crowd
• Ad nauseam
• Ad hominem
• Cognitive dissonance
• Common man
• Fear, uncertainty and doubt
• Oversimplification
• Scapegoating
• Transfer

As Eric Deggans smartly noted. The Glen Beck Lincoln Memorial stunt used several tried and true propaganda techniques such a "Transfer", "Band Wagon", "Fear" and "Historical Revision". Most people with a brain are absolutely outraged that this ass-hat held his event on the anniversary of Dr. King's speech. Only a complete fool would not recognize this for what it is, the "transfer" propaganda technique.

The other techniques I listed are rich in the daily Fox News Propaganda Machine. Ad Nauseam is that constant shouting, "We're Fair and Balanced". They figure if they say it enough, you'll believe it and not bother to research any other news. Ad Hominem is the constant attacking by O'reily, Hanity, Beck and others. It's not a civil argument with the opponent's ideas. It's a direct attack on their person. There is evidence of this in every Fox opinion show.

Bandwagon is another popular technique. That's all the "US Flag Graphics" and constant boasting of their ratings. That's the "be a part of something" crowd at the event yesterday. Appeal to fear is another big one. How many times have you heard Glen Beck say, "Be very afraid."

My post is getting long, so I encourage you to read, study and memorize the aspects of propaganda. I honestly don't know how hard it would be to explain this to a Fox Zombie. The problem is that trying to engage a logical argument with somebody who has already been brainwashed by propaganda is a tough task indeed. You may get ten minutes with them and then they go back and watch 10 hours of Fox News. There's a lot of resources on propaganda, so I'll post more as I find them. Most I've found so far echo the Wiki article.

Most of the time I get frustrated with Fox Zombies and just say things like, "Is That Right?" and just change the subject off politics, but lately I feel like I should take each argument they say and explain it as the propaganda technique that it is. At least my soul would feel better.