No Surprise here!

A study released in December by a non-partisan group at the University of Maryland showed an appalling lack of knowledge on a variety of topics by US voters.  One of the most interesting findings of the study was that most of the lack of knowledge and out-and-out misinformation could be sourced to the media one followed.

The survey included fairly basic questions on programs like TARP, the economy, and taxes.  Answers  were mostly a straightforward yes or no and could be easily found with a little internet research.  The surveyed voters were just sadly uninformed and missed question-after-question in large and significant numbers.  Probably the most shocking finding was that the degree to being misinformed was highly associated with the source of news followed by the participant.

The most controversial part of the study comes at the end.  MSNBC and NPR audiences were found to be least misinformed on the basic questions of fact.  The study points to Fox News as the chief misinformer among the three major cable news outlets.  The following is a list of instances in which Fox News viewers were more likely to be misinformed on a given issue:

• most economists estimate the stimulus caused job losses (12 points more likely)
• most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit (31 points)
• the economy is getting worse (26 points)
• most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring (30 points)
• the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts (14 points)
• their own income taxes have gone up (14 points)
• the auto bailout only occurred under Obama (13 points)
• when TARP came up for a vote most Republicans opposed it (12 points)
• and that it is not clear that Obama was born in the United States (31 points)

Even more revealing, people who watched Fox News multiple times a day or everyday were found to be more misinformed than those who just watched Fox News occasionally

That’s a fairly interesting result.  The more you watch Fox, the more misinformed you’re likely to become. Now, we get this headline today from Media Matters and Eric Boehlert: “FOX NEWS INSIDER: “Stuff Is Just Made Up”.  That sure explains a lot, doesn’t it?

Indeed, a former Fox News employee who recently agreed to talk with Media Matters confirmed what critics have been saying for years about Murdoch’s cable channel. Namely, that Fox News is run as a purely partisan operation, virtually every news story is actively spun by the staff, its primary goal is to prop up Republicans and knock down Democrats, and that staffers at Fox News routinely operate without the slightest regard for fairness or fact checking.

“It is their M.O. to undermine the administration and to undermine Democrats,” says the source. “They’re a propaganda outfit but they call themselves news.”

And that’s the word from inside Fox News.

The ex-Fox employee whistle blower explains some of the ways that Fox distorts the story.  This just adds further evidence to the batch of leaked emails last year showing how a top news editor was found to have told staffers how to slant the news for the desired bias.   Here’s a sample on how Fox News insured that the Obama HCR plan was rebranded from its original roots in Romney Care and the Heritage Plan put forward in 1993 by then Republican Senator John Chaffee.

From: Sammon, Bill
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 8:23 AM
To: 054 -FNSunday; 169 -SPECIAL REPORT; 069 -Politics; 030 -Root (FoxNews.Com); 036 -FOX.WHU; 050 -Senior Producers; 051 -Producers
Subject: friendly reminder: let’s not slip back into calling it the “public option”

1)      Please use the term “government-run health insurance” or, when brevity is a concern, “government option,” whenever possible.

2)      When it is necessary to use the term “public option” (which is, after all, firmly ensconced in the nation’s lexicon), use the qualifier “so-called,” as in “the so-called public option.”

3)      Here’s another way to phrase it: “The public option, which is the government-run plan.”

4)      When newsmakers and sources use the term “public option” in our stories, there’s not a lot we can do about it, since quotes are of course sacrosanct.

This isn’t even the first evidence we’ve had that Fox deliberately misleads its viewers.  You may recall the 2003 study that showed Fox viewers mistakenly thought Saddam Hussein and Iraq were responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers.  There were also other mistaken perceptions about other circumstances surrounding the lead up to the Iraq invasion.

In the run-up to the war misperceptions were also highly related to support for going to war. In February, among those who believed that Iraq was directly involved in September 11, 58% said they would agree with the President’s decision to go to war without UN approval. Among those who believed that Iraq had given al Qaeda substantial support, but was not involved in September 11, approval dropped to 37%. Among those who believed that a few al Qaeda individuals had contact with Iraqi officials 32% were supportive, while among those who believed that there was no connection at all just 25% felt that way. Polled during the war, among those who incorrectly believed that world public opinion favored going to the war, 81% agreed with the President’s decision to do so, while among those who knew that the world public opinion was opposed only 28% agreed.

While it would seem that misperceptions are derived from a failure to pay attention to the news, in fact, overall, those who pay greater attention to the news are no less likely to have misperceptions. Among those who primarily watch Fox, those who pay more attention are more likely to have misperceptions. Only those who mostly get their news from print media have fewer misperceptions as they pay more attention.

The Maryland Study cited above has found more evidence that viewers of Fox News hold views on the economy based on out and out untruths.  Again, the facts and data are easily found in many other sources.

–  72% believe the economy is getting worse.

–  49% believe their taxes have gone up under President Obama.

–  63% believe the stimulus did not create any tax cuts.

–  47% believe that TARP was passed into law and signed by President Obama.

None of these things are true and can be easily fact-checked by checking government sites.   There are several things here that are extremely important.  The first is that print media is basically on the wane and followers of print media consistently score higher on knowing the facts.  The second is that Fox News consistently earns the highest rating.  There’s more people getting their news from a serious attempt at mass propaganda than an earnest daily rag.  The third is that we live in a democracy and people victimized by a propaganda outlet posing as a news source are a serious threat to our democracy. Misinformed voters make incredibly bad decisions. I have only to point to those same folks who cheered the Iraq invasion then that know better now to come up with a really good example of the true cost in lives and treasure of this kind of ignorance.

Obviously, this source is an ‘unnamed’ staffer who is no longer with Fox. These leaves the story open to the charge of unknown disgruntled worker.  However, the information jives with what we already know when examining the failed test scores of Fox News watchers and the contents of the 2010 leaked memos.  We also know that Rupert Murdoch writes millions of dollars of checks to Republican Candidates and has a large number or wannabe Republican candidates on air as experts.  Evidently, former governors of states with low populations and exceedingly low educational standards and economic performance can be cause enough to put one on the Fox payroll as some kind of expert.

There are many interesting observations offered up by the anonymous ex-staffer.

The source continues: “I don’t think people understand that it’s an organization that’s built and functions by intimidation and bullying, and its goal is to prop up and support Republicans and the GOP and to knock down Democrats. People tend think that stuff that’s on TV is real, especially under the guise of news. You’d think that people would wise up, but they don’t.”

As for the press, the former Fox News employee gives reporters and pundits low grades for refusing, over the years, to call out Fox News for being the propaganda outlet that it so clearly is. The source suggests there are a variety of reasons for the newsroom timidity.

“They don’t have enough staff or enough balls or don’t have enough money or don’t have enough interest to spend the time it takes to expose Fox News. Or it’s not worth the trouble. If you take on Fox, they’ll kick you in the ass,” says the source. “I’m sure most [journalists]  know that. It’s not worth being  Swift Boated for your effort,” a reference to  how Fox News traditionally attacks journalists who write, or are perceived to have written, anything negative things about the channel.

Indeed, the veal pen will rush to protect even the most dubious hack in the nastiest pen.  The problem is that most people believe what’s on a TV news program.  Maybe it’s because so many of us grew up with our much trusted Uncle Walter or Uncles Chet and David. Maybe it’s because it’s hard to fact check a mostly 24-7 operation reliant on pretty faces and glib voices. But, I know people that think that even Glenn Beck is a journalist and a fact checker.

We have what are supposed to be legitimate news programs as well as obvious political shock jocks on Fox that many people take seriously.    I’ve even had people tell me that the CIA Factbook site was either hacked by Cuba or not a legitimate site when I’ve used it as source of data to offset the memes of some rabid dog expert that’s blathered about US exceptionalism and how we’re number one on this or that.  You can’t spend a lot of time on the CIA World Factbook without noticing exactly how far we’ve been tumbling from a number one or even number 10 positions recently on nearly every imaginable positive measure of economic well-being.  Yet, we’re both dying under the yoke of socialist oppression while being exceptionally number one, simultaneously, according to Fox.

What’s the offset to this?  Well, I’m not sure considering the number of people that go to FOX and appear on FOX because it’s simply an echo chamber.  I do think the MSM should do more stories that point out misinformation available other places.  I also think that a few of them should try to start acting less like People Magazine and more like news magazine.  The corporatization and consolidation of Media obviously works against getting a good and decent media.  We get more coverage of Lindsey Lohen’s necklace escapades than news on Afghanistan or Gitmo these days.

A good part of living in a democracy and being committed to seeing it through is to remain vigilant against threats.  FOX News represents a clear and present danger. Perhaps the most we can do is just continue to find good sources of information in alternative media and then see that information goes out to our friends and family. I know I have to offset the Fox Effect with my Dad all the time.  It gets discouraging.