The Science of Fox News: Why Its Viewers are the Most Misinformed

[Brass]

Quote from Tom B:

...Stalin and Mao were not "right-wing"...

In fact, they ran their regimes in a very much authoritarian Right Wing fashion. They did so under the guise of Left Wing ideology, which they did not really enact but used as a premise to appease the people. It's all falsehood and propaganda. Judge these dictators by what they did rather than what they said. Whereas Mussolini and Hitler never advocated worker ownership of the means of production, Stalin and Mao paid mere lip service to the notion. Therefore, how could they be anywhere near Left Wing in practice? Further, all four of these totalitarian regimes were all about social and economic hierarchy, which is the antithesis of Left Wing.

Maybe you should watch the video again.

Oh, and Max is an idiot.

 

[Tom B]

Quote from Brass:

In fact, they ran their regimes in a very much authoritarian Right Wing fashion. They did so under the guise of Left Wing ideology, which they did not really enact but used as a premise to appease the people. It's all falsehood and propaganda. Judge these dictators by what they did rather than what they said. Whereas Mussolini and Hitler never advocated worker ownership of the means of production, Stalin and Mao paid mere lip service to the notion. Therefore, how could they be anywhere near Left Wing in practice? Further, all four of these totalitarian regimes were all about social and economic hierarchy, which is the antithesis of Left Wing.

Maybe you should watch the video again.

Oh, and Max is an idiot.

Almost everything in the video is dishonest. An authoritarian can be left-wing or right-wing.

Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and libertarianism. In politics, an authoritarian government is one in which political authority is concentrated in a small group of politicians.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarianism

The assertion that social and economic hierarchy is unique to right-wing is also FALSE. It is NOT the antithesis of left-wing. In fact, in every left-wing communist state there is a social and economic hierarchy. The "elites" or Communist Party members belong to one hierarchy. They enjoy lavish economic and social lifestyles. Every one else belongs to lower hierarchy. They generally have a low standard of living, with no hope of bettering themselves.

Can you name a communist/ socialist country that is not under authoritarian rule?

 

[PiggyBank]

Quote from Free Thinker:

Authoritarian people have a stronger emotional need for an outlet like Fox, where they can find affirmation and escape factual challenges to their beliefs.

In June of last year, Jon Stewart went on air with Fox News’ Chris Wallace and started a major media controversy over the channel’s misinforming of its viewers. “Who are the most consistently misinformed media viewers?” Stewart asked Wallace. “The most consistently misinformed? Fox, Fox viewers, consistently, every poll.”

Stewart’s statement was factually accurate, as we’ll see. The next day, however, the fact-checking site PolitiFact weighed in and rated it “false.” In claiming to check Stewart’s “facts,” PolitiFact ironically committed a serious error—and later, doubly ironically, failed to correct it. How’s that for the power of fact checking?

There probably is a small group of media consumers out theresomewhere in the world who are more misinformed, overall, than Fox News viewers. But if you only consider mainstream U.S. television news outlets with major audiences (e.g., numbering in the millions), it really is true that Fox viewers are the most misled based on all the available evidence—especially in areas of political controversy. This will come as little surprise to liberals, perhaps, but the evidence for it—evidence in Stewart’s favor—is pretty overwhelming.

My goal here is to explore the underlying causes for this “Fox News effect”—explaining how this station has brought about a hurricane-like intensification of factual error, misinformation and unsupportable but ideologically charged beliefs on the conservative side of the aisle. First, though, let’s begin by surveying the evidence about how misinformed Fox viewers actually are.

Iraq War

In 2003, a survey by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland found widespread public misperceptions about the Iraq war. For instance, many Americans believed the U.S. had evidence that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq had been collaborating in some way with Al Qaeda, or was involved in the 9-11 attacks; many also believed that the much touted “weapons of mass destruction” had been found in the country after the U.S. invasion, when they hadn’t. But not everyone was equally misinformed: “The extent of Americans’ misperceptions vary significantly depending on their source of news,” PIPA reported. “Those who receive most of their news from Fox News are more likely than average to have misperceptions.”

Global Warming

At least two studies have documented that Fox News viewers are
more misinformed about this subject.

In a late 2010 survey, Stanford University political scientist Jon Krosnick and visiting scholar Bo MacInnis found that “more exposure to Fox News was associated with more rejection of many mainstream scientists’ claims about global warming, with less trust in scientists, and with more belief that ameliorating global warming

Health Care

In 2009, an NBC survey found “rampant misinformation” about the healthcare reform bill before Congress — derided on the right as “Obamacare.” It also found that Fox News viewers were much more likely to believe this misinformation than average members of the general public. “72% of self-identified Fox News viewers believe the healthcare plan will give coverage to illegal immigrants, 79% of them say it will lead to a government takeover, 69% think that it will use taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions, and 75% believe that it will allow the government to make decisions about when to stop providing care for the elderly,” the survey found.

http://www.alternet.org/media/15487..._Its_Viewers_are_the_Most_Misinformed/?page=2

Wow that is some evidence u got there lol. Did u not see the video posted a few weeks ago about obama voters, who didn't have a any fucking clue why they were voting for him? Now, I don't think that simple video with such a small sample speaks for everyone, but that is essentially what this article does.. and they did draw their conclusions from these surveys. For all we know they got their sample of participants exclusively from trailer parks full of ignorant people. This line is funny "Stewart’s statement was factually accurate, as we’ll see..." where exactly are the 'facts' in this article that PROVE his statement factually accurate?

More importantly, all of these issues were/are highly debated, and there are unknowns involved in each issue.. but this post seems to claim certain views as 'fact'. For example approx 500 warheads/canisters of sarin and mustard gas were found in Iraq. these agents are considered chemical wmd's, that is not my opinion but an actual fact. Also we did engage al-qaeda in iraq and it is still debated whether or not they were there prior to US invasion. What we know for sure is that our Congress, privy to much more intelligence than we are, voted for the resolution authorizing war. This included a significant % of dem congressman/women and the majority of dem senators, again a straight up fact. And when it went bad they jumped on board with the "Bush LIED to us" nonsense. they saw what he saw and they voted for the fucking war.

Also, have u or anyone else on this site read every page of the 2700 pg healthcare bill? If not then how do you or John Stewart KNOW what is in there. Speaking of healthcare, the individual mandate is a prime example of authoritarianism, and it was passed by a dem controlled congress and a dem president. Whether it is based on this presidents twisted idea of fairness or not is irrelevant. Forcing individuals to buy something is forcing them to submit to authority. More regulation and tax code are also authoritarian policies, and are opposed to the ideals of freedom and individualism. If you support the individual mandate, then you support authoritarianism. It isn't possible to be pro individual rights and support this mandate.

 

[Max E.]

Straight from the wikipedia entry you listed...Once again BrASS shows just how much of a bumbling idiot he is....



The Vietnamese communist regime in Hanoi is also considered to be authoritarian. Vietnam is ruled by the Vietnamese Communist Party, the only legal political party in the country, whose rule is unbroken ever since 1946 in North Vietnam,

Quote from Tom B:

Almost everything in the video is dishonest. An authoritarian can be left-wing or right-wing.

Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and libertarianism. In politics, an authoritarian government is one in which political authority is concentrated in a small group of politicians.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarianism

 

[Brass]

Quote from Tom B:

Almost everything in the video is dishonest. An authoritarian can be left-wing or right-wing.

Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and libertarianism. In politics, an authoritarian government is one in which political authority is concentrated in a small group of politicians.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarianism

Seriously? Please tell me, for all intents and purposes, what are the practical operating distinctions between and among any of the four regimes mentioned? How do you distinguish, say, between Mao's regime and Hitler's? Mussolini's and Stalin's? What set them apart from one another in day-to-day life? NOTHING.

 

[Lucrum]

Quote from PiggyBank:

Wow that is some evidence u got there lol. Did u not see the video posted a few weeks ago about obama voters, who didn't have a any fucking clue why they were voting for him?...

People like pee drinker don't want the sheeple to know why they're voting for Odumbo, so long as they vote for Odumbo.

 

[PHOENIX TRADING]

Quote from Brass:

In fact, they ran their regimes in a very much authoritarian Right Wing fashion. They did so under the guise of Left Wing ideology, which they did not really enact but used as a premise to appease the people. It's all falsehood and propaganda. Judge these dictators by what they did rather than what they said. Whereas Mussolini and Hitler never advocated worker ownership of the means of production, Stalin and Mao paid mere lip service to the notion. Therefore, how could they be anywhere near Left Wing in practice? Further, all four of these totalitarian regimes were all about social and economic hierarchy, which is the antithesis of Left Wing.

Maybe you should watch the video again.

Oh, and Max is an idiot.

Converse to propaganda , authoritarian regimes come most readily from the left and those who entertain collectivist idiot-ologies.

What is it about libertarians (belief in the sanctity of individual rights , property, free market capitalism )that get you so bent?

The libertarian is always in direct opposition to totalitarianism and other collectvist idiot-ologies.

 

[PHOENIX TRADING]

Quote from Brass:

Seriously? Please tell me, for all intents and purposes, what are the practical operating distinctions between and among any of the four regimes mentioned? How do you distinguish, say, between Mao's regime and Hitler's? Mussolini's and Stalin's? What set them apart from one another in day-to-day life? NOTHING.

They are all collectivist idiot-ologies to one degree or another, and that is exactly what they all share in common with leftist drivel.

 

[Tom B]

Quote from Brass:

Seriously? Please tell me, for all intents and purposes, what are the practical operating distinctions between and among any of the four regimes mentioned? How do you distinguish, say, between Mao's regime and Hitler's? Mussolini's and Stalin's? What set them apart from one another in day-to-day life? NOTHING.

They were all authoritarian regimes with different ideologies.

The assertion that social and economic hierarchy is unique to right-wing is also FALSE. It is NOT the antithesis of left-wing. In fact, in every left-wing communist state there is a social and economic hierarchy. The "elites" or Communist Party members belong to one hierarchy. They enjoy lavish economic and social lifestyles. Every one else belongs to lower hierarchy. They generally have a low standard of living, with no hope of bettering themselves.

Can you name a left-wing communist country that is not under authoritarian rule?

 

[PHOENIX TRADING]

Quote from Tom B:

They were all authoritarian regimes with different ideologies.

The assertion that social and economic hierarchy is unique to right-wing is also FALSE. It is NOT the antithesis of left-wing. In fact, in every left-wing communist state there is a social and economic hierarchy. The "elites" or Communist Party members belong to one hierarchy. They enjoy lavish economic and social lifestyles. Every one else belongs to lower hierarchy. They generally have a low standard of living, with no hope of bettering themselves.

Can you name a left-wing communist country that is not under authoritarian rule?

brass can't name any communist countries past or present that he doesn't like.