Study Confirms That Fox News Makes You Stupid
December 17, 2010 2:13 AM   Subscribe

Obvious Alert A new survey of American voters shows that Fox News viewers are significantly more misinformed than consumers of news from other sources. Various survey results inside.
posted by novenator (30 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Between you being a contributor to Alternet and you throwing a link to your work elsewhere into the beginning of the thread, this feels pretty not-okay. -- cortex



 
♫ You say misinformed, I say rampantly stupid, let's call the whole thing off... ♬
posted by i_cola at 2:17 AM on December 17, 2010 [6 favorites]


I did a compilation of the various outrageous things that right wingers tend to believe myself last spring here, but it always amazes me the type of delusions some folks are capable of. Another author on the site I volunteer for also has an interesting take on this, demonstrating that when confronted with the truth, people often not only reject the facts, but it reinforces their original errant perceptions.

Is stupid fixable?
posted by novenator at 2:19 AM on December 17, 2010


I'm going to wait to hear what Glenn Beck has to say about this before deciding whether it's true.
posted by Knappster at 2:31 AM on December 17, 2010 [5 favorites]


I think you're making a fundamental mistake if you think that people watch or read, or ever have watched or read, the news primarily as a way to develop an objective feel for what is happening in the world. Of course, there are people who do so, and there are news organisations that purport to provide for that niche. But 'news' is and has always been a supply-and-demand thing; as such, we pick the news that best aligns with our expectations, that entertains, titillates, horrifies or simply reinforces our prejudices. Both right and left are guilty of this, although in America it seems that the right are especially well catered for.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 2:35 AM on December 17, 2010 [6 favorites]


I saw a report about this on Fox News and they said that Fox News viewers are significantly more informed. So it's pretty close. A swing and a mis.
posted by twoleftfeet at 2:51 AM on December 17, 2010 [1 favorite]


How about linking to the actual results or to the organization responsible instead of this worthless blogspam?

Looking at the results, I see nothing to be happy about here. The per-network results start on page 20 of the PDF, and they show that numerous people that watch CNN/MSNBC/NPR daily are still mostly misinformed too. I mean, 64% of daily MSNBC viewers and 84% of daily CNN viewers (compared to FoxNews' 91%) responded incorrectly that the "stimulus legislation saved or created a few jobs or caused job losses." And 41% of CNN viewers and 39% of MSNBC viewers were in the "unclear or not born in the US" birther camp. While the FoxNews numbers are consistently higher, the others are still embarrassingly awful.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:00 AM on December 17, 2010 [10 favorites]


Yet more preposterous, left-wing, commy, queer, godless, Un American crap. Somebody charge this guy with treason. Or just, you know, string him up.
posted by londonmark at 3:05 AM on December 17, 2010


Speaking of Fox, I was rather impressed by Jon Stewart's impassioned takedown of the network last night. Here's the video; the gist of it is that, while they've got no problem cranking up the 9/11 outrage machine in order to attack the Park51 mosque or criticize Janet Napolitano's speeches for not being 9/11-y enough, they were conspicuously low-key when it came to covering the ongoing Republican filibuster of the healthcare bill for 9/11 first responders. All the other networks dropped the ball, as well -- only Al-Jazeera gave the story any significant coverage.

Anyway, he made up for it by dedicating the middle third of the show to interviewing four first responders to the attacks, all of whom were suffering from cancer. And it was nice watching Mike Huckabee calling out the Senate GOP later on in the show. A great way to end the year.
posted by Rhaomi at 3:06 AM on December 17, 2010 [7 favorites]


The body of evidence that Fox News is nothing but a propaganda machine dedicated to lies is growing by the day.

Wake up white people. Fox News does not misinform people, it is not a propaganda machine, it is a TV program that validates already misinformed people.

But 'news' is and has always been a supply-and-demand thing;

Fox news turned this on its head: it is a demand-and-supply thing.

Fox News is a business model. The goal of Fox News is not to inform or misinform - it is to attract viewers in order to sell advertising. It is not so much a "propaganda machine" as it is a mirror reflecting the views of its audience. Rupert Murdoch feeds his audience "information" that pleases their world view and makes them feel good about themselves so they tune in.

"If that pretty blond girl agrees with me (and my ignorant, racist, bigoted views), then I must be right and that makes me a good person."

The right wing has always had a low-self esteem and Fox News (and Rush Limbo, Glenn Beck, etc.) are in the (tremendously successful) business of boosting that low self-esteem.
posted by three blind mice at 3:06 AM on December 17, 2010 [5 favorites]


Fox News doesn't make you stupid. Stupidity comes from deep within; You're either born stupid or you train endless hours to become stupid.

Any major news show will make you stupid, because any major news show will force you to think of complicated realities in simplistic terms, because news shows aren't about making you smarter; they're about selling more advertising space. If you still think that what you see on TV is an accurate reflection of what is happening everyday on the streets or in the homes of billions of people then you need to get out more.
posted by twoleftfeet at 3:11 AM on December 17, 2010 [3 favorites]


And stop looking at the television? Are you crazy?
posted by pracowity at 3:21 AM on December 17, 2010


Science plinth.
posted by Mblue at 3:37 AM on December 17, 2010


I find this unbelievable.
Why?
Itches are scratched.
posted by Mblue at 3:53 AM on December 17, 2010




Knappster: "I'm going to wait to hear what Glenn Beck has to say about this before deciding whether it's true."

I was just reading an article about the semantics used on FOX and at the bottom there was a short blurb which read:

"On his radio show last week, Fox News commentator Glenn Beck alleged that 10 per cent of the world's Muslims are terrorists, asking "why isn't this receiving coverage?" The reason: the real figure is closer to 0.1 per cent."

Jesus, what a fuckin' idiot.
posted by gman at 4:25 AM on December 17, 2010


It is not a legitimate news outlet but rather a propaganda outlet. The beautiful thing is that instead of being the propaganda arm of the GOP it is independent. That way they can peddle both mainstream conservatism to which the regular GOP can attach themselves and also peddle outrageous lies to which politicians might not want to be associated but builds grassroot support for conservative causes. Despite the power of the internet TV remains the most powerful medium for getting out a political message.
posted by caddis at 4:30 AM on December 17, 2010


Is stupid fixable?

Ah, here's the problem. Looks like your tie rod bearing was bent 'round your axle housing. We just welded a bridge plate to the interferometer and fused the housing to the undercarriage.

Your stupid's all fixed.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:39 AM on December 17, 2010 [1 favorite]


In 50 years, if we are all still here, the words "Fox News" will sound like the words "Ku Klux Klan" does today. Bunch of racist douchebags.
posted by spitbull at 4:54 AM on December 17, 2010


You know why I stopped watching the Daily Show? Because of this fucking crap:

In Canada, Comedy Central videos are available on The Comedy Network

Which in my mind is followed with:

So let us link you to a completely useless front page with absolutely no fucking way of finding the video you want

It's ridiculous.
posted by splice at 4:59 AM on December 17, 2010 [1 favorite]


Fox News is to journalism what the WWE is to sports.

If only that were true. Even impassioned WWE fans will readily acknowledge that it's an act. They may request of you that you at least respect the athletic skill of the players of their favorite soap opera, but they know it's a show and not a competition. Fox News viewers swear up and down that they're getting the unvarnished truth, with no favoritism or skewing to make it more TV-worthy.

Fox News is to journalism what the the NBA is to sports.
posted by explosion at 5:00 AM on December 17, 2010 [2 favorites]


Is stupid fixable?

Given the town I grew up in and the family that I moved away from, and dread going back to see this Christmas, no. Going to have to endure all this shit and then some. I don't even bother trying to correct them any more.
Maybe I should start a blog "stupid shit my family says" and get a tv show, too!
posted by Old'n'Busted at 5:06 AM on December 17, 2010


Related: PolitiFact's Lie of the Year
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:09 AM on December 17, 2010


The right wing has always had a low-self esteem

You mean, I assume, as opposed to the left's always historically stratospheric levels of self-esteem.
posted by blucevalo at 5:31 AM on December 17, 2010 [1 favorite]


Some of these don't seem like assertions about indisputably factual matters.

"72 percent believe the health reform law will increase the deficit", for example. I could imagine some hypothetical right-winger knowing the indisputably factual matter that the GAO claims that the health reform law will increase the deficit, but not believing that the GAO is correct about that; for example thinking that such a projection is largely voodoo and handwaving, and influenced by politics, and moreover doesn't take into account blah blah blah which will cause costs to rise for reasons not addressed by the GAO.

Such a person would fall into that 72%. Now, you may argue that it's stupid to think the GAO is wrong, or that "doesn't take into account blah blah blah" is just silly, but that's a different matter than being misinformed about the basic facts of the matter.

"The stimulus lost jobs" is another one. I could imagine someone who knows the claims of the government and of many economists about the stimulus, but who thinks that if we just let the free market do its job unhindered by governmental intrusion, more jobs would have been created, which (if true) would mean that the stimulus did lose jobs, in a net sense.

I hesitate to post this without explicitly noting that things like "just let the free market do its job unhindered by governmental intrusion" are intended to be reflective of the thoughts of a hypothetical right winger on these matters, not of my own.
posted by Flunkie at 5:32 AM on December 17, 2010 [1 favorite]


And also, I feel that I should have noted that the fact that I claim that some of these don't seem like assertions about indisputably factual matters shouldn't be taken to imply that I think all or even most of them don't.
posted by Flunkie at 5:34 AM on December 17, 2010




I could imagine some hypothetical right-winger knowing the indisputably factual matter that the GAO claims that the health reform law will increase the deficit
Oh god, I meant "decrease"

maybe I'm watching Fox News in my sleep without realizing it
posted by Flunkie at 5:43 AM on December 17, 2010


Willful ignorance just makes me sad. Fox News is successful because it reinforces existing misconceptions. As others have said, the other news organizations aren't much better. Critical thinking seems to be in decline. It's not just the US though, we only have to look at the Daily Mail and it's ilk in the UK to see that it's endemic.
posted by arcticseal at 5:51 AM on December 17, 2010 [1 favorite]


believe it or not there was a time in American history where you were considered a dolt if you got your news from the television. We need to start actively shaming these people again.
posted by any major dude at 6:06 AM on December 17, 2010 [2 favorites]


63 percent believe Obama was not born in the U.S. (or that it is unclear)

I would imagine that at this point, when Obama is confronted with the whole "omg birth certificate" thing, he just grabs hold of the nearest pillow (probably one of those nice ones in the Oval) and just screams and screams into it until the frustration over the popular obsession with a document he released more than two years ago turns his voice into a faint, desperate wheeze.
posted by diogenetic at 6:57 AM on December 17, 2010


« Older iEye: Realize Your Dreams   |   The afterlives of elephants Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments