In the past, we've witnessed Fox News take an editorial position against basic facts, but has it really influenced anyone's vote/
While it has presented itself as "balanced" over the years, there's little doubt that Fox News has consistently supported Republican candidates and positions even when that required taking an editorial position against basic facts. On some level, this has worked, as surveys have indicated Fox viewers are more likely to get those same facts wrong. But is it working in terms of the larger goal of supporting Republican causes?
According to a new study, the answer is yes. Two researchers, Gregory Martin and Ali Yurukoglu, have taken advantage of huge amounts of public data, some inadvertent experiments, and a lot of previous research to look into the influence of Fox News on people's votes. They conclude that, in recent elections, the mere availability of Fox could shift nationwide votes by over a percentage point....
One percentage point doesn't sound like that much, but it could make the difference in a close election. Most US elections are closely contested.
So fake new works as propaganda. Bugt inquiring minds want to know if it is the Russians doing it, or….
It addition, it pays, since it confirms confirmation bias.
New analysis suggests Fox News is working, shifting votes to R column
John Timmer
1 comment:
It's galling to listen to self serving facts, where they down play what is important to one party and over emphasize what is important to their own party. Yet NPR or NBC or NYT or Bezos WAPO repeat and publish known untruths constantly to maintain their political views yet are considered balanced by most university town inhabitants and coastal elites.
One can hardly mention Fox or Breitbart without someone throwing out their selective use of facts but I don't see them as worse than NYT pretty much on par. If I consider a guy like Krugman who graces the pages of the Times with half baked opinions or NYT news reporting on foreign policy issues like Russia! or Domestic election news, they make no pretense of being factual.
Post a Comment