Wired Magazine: Fox News Is Now a Threat to National Security
I’ve been saying it here for years. Donald Trump is the symptom.
Fox News is the disease.
Without Fox News pouring poison into the brains of ~40% of Americans, we would not have this funhouse-mirror image of what a decent society should look like.
This week has made clear that Fox News’ lies have morphed into a legitimate national security threat to the United States and the functioning of a democracy. My latest: https://t.co/RhjTDVubxy
— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg) December 11, 2019
- People would be outraged that the government is putting innocent toddlers & babies in cold concrete cages and leaving them to die
- Society would rise up and demand that assault weapons not be given to deranged killers
- Billionaires would pay taxes
- Corporations would not be free to shit all over the land and poison Americans just to earn a sleazy buck
- Citizens would not fear trips to the hospital because it was likely to bankrupt them and make them homeless
- Conspiracy theories would be limited to ragged nutters screaming at their socks on park benches
- Black folks could legitimately complain about being beaten and shot without being branded as "thugs"
- Single moms would earn decent salaries and get affordable child care
Wired Magazine has finally realized what a clear & present danger Fox News is to having a functioning democracy in this country. That Rupert Murdoch’s empire is dedicated to tearing down everything that makes America free & decent, and replacing it with some twisted vision of white supremacist dictatorship.
The idea that Fox News represents a literal threat to our national security, on par with Russia’s Internet Research Agency or China’s Ministry of State Security, may seem like a dramatic overstatement of its own—and I, a paid contributor to its competitor CNN, may appear a biased voice anyway—but this week has made clear that, as we get deeper into the impeachment process and as the 2020 election approaches, Fox News is prepared to destroy America’s democratic traditions if it will help its most important and most dedicated daily viewer.
The threat posed to our democracy by Fox News is multifaceted: First and most simply, it’s clearly advancing and giving voice to narratives and smears backed and imagined by our foreign adversaries. Second, its overheated and bombastic rhetoric is undermining America’s foundational ideals and the sense of fair play in politics. Third, its unique combination of lies and half-truths has built a virtual reality so complete that it leaves its viewers too misinformed to fulfill their most basic responsibilities as citizens to make informed choices about the direction of the country.