FAUX NEWS AGAIN

HERE I GO OFF ON FAUX NEWS AGAIN: Chris Mooney’s book The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science and Reality.

The author explores the findings of seven surveys. These are public opinion surveys that ask citizens about their beliefs on factual but contested issues, and also about their media habits. Inevitably, some significant percentage of citizens are found to be misinformed about the facts, and in a politicized way—but not only that. The surveys also find that those who watch Fox are more likely to be misinformed, their views of reality skewed in a right-wing direction. In some cases, the studies even show that watching more Fox makes the misinformation problem worse.
The issues were the Iraq War, Global Warming, Health Care, Ground Zero Mosque, 2010 Elections. The author goes on to explore the evidence that supports his key tenet: Fox viewers are misinformed. Of note, this means, in his study, that Fox viewers are both misinformed in term of what they know, and that they have been misinformed by Fox as a source of what they know.
Looking at a variety of studies, the author comes to the conclusion that
Fox is imparting misinformation even as politically conservative viewers are also seeking the station out—highly open to it and already convinced about many falsehoods that dovetail with their beliefs, certainty is driven by a kind of feedback loop. Those seeking to have their beliefs reinforced only look to those who will reinforce it. This is referred to as selective exposure and it is the clearest way to look at how people create their own realities, based upon their views of the world.

In summary, then, the “science” of Fox News clearly shows that its viewers are more misinformed than the viewers of other stations, and are indeed this way for ideological reasons. But these are not necessarily the reasons that liberals may assume. Instead, the Fox “effect” probably occurs both because the station churns out falsehoods that conservatives readily accept—falsehoods that may even seem convincing to some liberals on occasion—but also because conservatives are overwhelmingly inclined to choose to watch Fox to begin with.

        At the same time, it’s important to note that they’re also disinclined to watch anything else. Fox keeps constantly in their minds the idea that the rest of the media are “biased” against them, and conservatives duly respond by saying other media aren’t worth watching—it’s just a pack of lies. According to Public Policy Polling’s annual TV News Trust Poll (the 2011 run), 72 percent of conservatives say they trust Fox News, but they also say they strongly distrust NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN. Liberals and moderates, in contrast, trust all of these outlets more than they distrust them (though they distrust Fox). This, too, suggests conservative selective exposure.
        And there is an even more telling study of “Fox-only” behavior among conservatives, from Stanford’s Shanto Iyengar and Kyu Hahn of Yonsei University, in Seoul, South Korea. They conducted a classic left-right selective exposure study, giving members of different ideological groups the chance to choose stories from a news stream that provided them with a headline and a news source logo—Fox, CNN, NPR, and the BBC—but nothing else. The experiment was manipulated so that the same headline and story was randomly attributed to different news sources. The result was that Democrats and liberals were definitely less inclined to choose Fox than other sources, but spread their interest across the other outlets
when it came to news. But Republicans and conservatives overwhelmingly chose Fox for hard news and even for soft news, and ignored other sources. “The probability that a Republican would select a CNN or NPR report was around 10%,” wrote the authors.
        In other words Fox News is both deceiver and enabler simultaneously. First, its existence creates the opportunity for conservatives to exercise their biases, by selecting into the Fox information stream, and also by imbibing Fox-style arguments and claims that can then fuel biased reasoning about politics, science, and whatever else comes up.
        But at the same time, it’s also likely that conservatives, tending to be more closed-minded and more authoritarian, have a stronger emotional need for an outlet like Fox, where they can find affirmation and escape from the belief challenges constantly presented by the “liberal media.” Their psychological need for something affirmative is probably stronger than what’s encountered on the opposite side of the aisle—as is their revulsion towards allegedly liberal (but really centrist) media outlets.
        And thus we find, at the root of our political dysfunction, a classic nurture-nature melange. The penchant for selective exposure is rooted in our psychology and our brains. Closed-mindedness and authoritarianism—running stronger in some of us than in others—likely are as well.
        But nevertheless, it took the emergence of a station like Fox News before these tendencies could be fully activated—polarizing America not only over politics, but over reality itself.

I have often said Fox News should be labeled Faux [false] News. Because that's what it is, a fake news outlet. They actually create the news rather than report it. They rely on the basest of human emotions [fear,hate, anger] to fuel their audience numbers; and it works. People flock to Faux News to be titillated and bullied at the same time. Why? I have no idea. I turn it on and watch about ½ hour of their nonsense and have to turn it off and head for a a quick cold shower. There is something smarmy in their approach to the news that is unhealthy. As a retired therapist, I understand the draw that Faux News has. People like to be shocked and titillated and angered and be scared. It's the same reason people go to horror films. The problem lies in when the individual takes what's going on in the horror film as factual; the monsters are eating people in New York and they live in the sewers and can transport themselves anywhere they want simply by snapping their fingers...or flippers, or whatever.

Read the children's story clear to the end...jb

Faux News was in the woods.

A seed fell on his tail.

Faux News said,

"The sky is falling.

I will run.”

Faux News met Henny Penny.

He said,

“The sky is falling, Henny Penny.”

Henny Penny said,

“How do you know, Faux News?”

Faux News said,

“Some of it fell on my tail.”

“We will run,” said Henny Penny.

“We will run and tell the king.”

They met Turkey Lurkey.

Henny Penny said,

“The sky is falling, Turkey Lurkey.”

“How do you know, Henny Penny?”

“Faux News told me.”

“How do you know, Faux News?”

“I saw it with my eyes.

I heard it with my ears.

Some of it fell on my tail.”

Turkey Lurkey said,

“We will run.

We will run and tell the king.”

They met Ducky Lucky.

Turkey Lurkey said,

“The sky is falling, Ducky Lucky.”

“How do you know, Turkey Lurkey?”

“Henny Penny told me.”

“How do you know, Henny Penny?”

“Faux News told me.”

“How do you know, Faux News?”

“I saw it with my eyes.

I heard it with my ears.

Some of it fell on my tail.”

Ducky Lucky said,

“We will run.

We will run and tell the king.”

They met Goosey Loosey.

Ducky Lucky said,

“The sky is falling, Goosey Loosey.”

“How do you know, Ducky Lucky?”

“Turkey Lurkey told me.”

“How do you know, Turkey Lurkey?”

“Henny Penny told me.”

“How do you know, Henny Penny?”

“Faux News told me.”

“How do you know, Faux News?”

“I saw it with my eyes.

I heard it with my ears.

Some of it fell on my tail.”

Goosey Loosey said,

“We will run.

We will run and tell the king.”

They met Foxy Loxy.

Goosey Loosey said,

“The sky is falling, Foxy Loxy.

“How do you know, Goosey Loosey?”

“Ducky Lucky told me.”

“How do you know, Ducky Lucky?”

 “Turkey Lurkey told me.”

“How do you know Turkey Lurkey?”

“Henny Penny told me.”

“How do you know, Henny Penny?”

“Faux News told me.”

“How do you know, Faux News?”

“I saw it with my eyes.

I heard it with my ears.

Some of it fell on my tail.”

Foxy Loxy said,

“We will run.

We will run into my den,

and I will tell the king.”

They ran into Foxy Loxy’s den,

but they did not come out again.

[What this story teaches us about people who scare monger.]

1. The moral here is to approach the conclusions that you make logically, and not to panic. Have courage, even when the time is tough, you do not need to panic or worry. Believe in yourself, even when other people don't believe in you. you can do it! believe in yourself!
   
2. Well depending on the version of the story Chicken Little focuses on a little chicken who overreacts and causes a big commotion over nothing. The moral of the basic story is to not overreact and don't believe everything you're told. The story revolves around mass hysteria as the chicken little continuously says, "The sky is falling!".
   
3. The moral of the story of Chicken Little is to not jump to conclusions and spread them like they are facts until you have all the information.
   
4. The moral is to not panic. Chicken Little thought the sky was falling when an acorn fell on her head, and was terrified for no reason. If she'd been calmer and more rational she would not have been afraid.
   
5. The moral of chicken little is to always keep your head and don't panic and have courage. The world is full of people who become alarmed at every provocation but it doesn't mean anything bad will happen.
   
6. Finally, if you continue to believe falsehoods, it will, in the end, be your undoing.
   

And there you have it, the complete Faux News identity explained in a children's story.