By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | It startled me when I read several recent columns about an editorial in the New York Post, which is owned by conservative Rupert Murdoch. The Post editorial stated that ex-President Trump is not the best GOP presidential candidate.
The responding columns in other media organizations seemed to state that Murdoch, who also owns Fox News, was deserting Trump. I decided to determine if that were true and if, by some miracle, Fox was becoming more objective in its reporting.
On a recent day, I went online and reviewed the Fox website. I found that Fox is clearly not anymore “fair and balanced” than it has ever been. It remains a right-wing propaganda organization rather than an objective source of news.
On that random day, here are a few of their major story headlines about Democrats that I found:
- “Top Democratic candidates mum on basic question about pregnancy” (an inane story about who is considered a woman);
- “Mayor (Lori) Leadfoot- Democrat mayor pushing speed cameras refusing to pay one speeding tickets” (a hit piece about Chicago’s mayor);
- “Protesters disrupt America First Agenda Summit ahead of Trump speech” (implying that it’s the left that is causing political disturbances versus the right); and
- “Heartbreaking, Mother and child dead after Dem allegedly hits car, spins them across highway” (what should have been a local story versus a national one about the Wisconsin Senate.)
On the website, I also found stories about rappers, China, the internal Pence/Trump battle, Ukraine, television shows, sports and so on. Finally, buried in the midst of that garbage, I found one item entitled “Department of Justice reportedly reviewing Trump’s conduct, conversations as part of 2020 election investigation.” But even that weakly written column begins by saying that Senator Blackburn wants the DOJ to act against liberal activists targeting SCOTUS members.
Perhaps most importantly, I did not find one word on the Fox news site that day about the bi-partisan House Committee to investigate the January 6 insurrection or its startling findings.
Their findings have shown, usually based on testimony by staunch conservative Republicans who were actually there, that the insurrection was not a random act. It was part of a well-planned coup (detailed in a written plan by Trump’s strategist John Eastman) to overturn a free and fair election. And that Trump was the ringleader in that organized attempt to install him anyway, although he had clearly lost the election. If successful, he would have been an authoritarian dictator, holding his office contrary to the Constitution and the will of the American people. And, if not for Mike Pence, Bill Barr and a few other honest and patriotic Republicans, he would have succeeded.
But the failure of Fox and related right-wing propaganda channels to objectively cover the House hearings is why few GOP voters believe the startling facts that the Committee is uncovering. Two thirds of GOP voters still believe the “big lie” that the election was stolen. (Even Republican judges and other GOP authorities stated it was not).
Over 840 right wing zealots have been indicted, and many convicted, of offenses related to the January 6 insurrection. However, from one recent poll, most GOP voters still incorrectly believe the riot was caused by leftist Antifa types.
Frankly, I am more disheartened about the state of our union than at any time in my life. And Fox and the other propaganda organs are contributing to my concern that we are rapidly losing our democracy.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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