Fox Fake News.....

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BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
by Jeffrey Joseph

Many have remarked on FOX's tendency to promote a set narrative in lieu of actually reporting on the news. Nonetheless, few might have suspected that the network's zeal for their own narrative would have so plainly led to false implications as when FOX reported a joke as straight news and made efforts to falsely bolster Sarah Palin's new special in ways that have already backfired.

Ever willing to take a jab at global warming activists, FOX presented as news an article about Professor James Schneider, a "famed global warming activist," freezing to death in the Antarctic while trying to do research on the melting of ice sheets as a consequence of global warming. Without specifically commenting on the irony, the FOX presentation included an excerpt from Linda Schneider, James' wife, saying, "He kept talking about when they 'get down to chili,' and I thought they were talking about the order in which they would consume their food supplies." Strangely, the activist's wife, according to the piece, thought he was heading to Greenland rather than the Antarctica on the other side of the globe and misinterpreted Chile, the nation, for chili.

Of course, the whole article was a hoax. The post originally appeared in 2006 on ecoEnquirer.com, to which FOX Nation linked in the article it presented. However, the posters on FOX failed to recognize the website's history of satire. Posted too early to even promote as an April Fool's Day joke, FOX has since taken the article down, but not without already putting into serious question the validity of the "news" site.

The cable network hardly fared better. In building up Sarah Palin's debut special, FOX aired promos suggesting Palin would feature stories from stars such as LL Cool J, Toby Keith, and GE Executive Jack Welch. From the outset, the show seemed altogether suspicious since GE operates MSNBC, politically counter to the entire network, but the promotions left the implication that Palin would have a new interview with Welch and the others.

Welch turned out to be the least of Palin's concerns. LL Cool J publicly took umbrage with the suggestion he would make an appearance on the show. He has now famously tweeted, "Fox lifted an old interview I gave in 2008 to someone else & are misrepresenting to the public in order to promote Sarah Palins Show. WOW." In turn, FOX scrambled onto the offensive, removing him from the show and representing the move as if the star "does not want to be associated with a program that could serve as an inspiration to others." To ensure LL Cool J felt FOX's hostility, it concluded with a back-handed compliment in choosing to "wish him the best with his fledgling acting career," this despite the fact that the star has appeared in movies and television for over twenty years. Of course, the sender proved too cowardly to attach a name to the denigrating remarks.

With some forethought, FOX may have anticipated LL Cool J's incredulity at his appearance in Palin's promos, but Toby Keith's parallel publicly voiced surprise likely comes as a bit more of a shock. As related by Keith's publicist, Elaine Schock, "Toby was not asked to participate, nor has he ever done an interview with Sarah Palin." FOX has not yet issued another stinging response to Keith's statement as it did with LL Cool J. Nor has FOX thus far suggested it would remove Keith's portions from the show, also apparently from a long-past interview that did not involve Palin. What it has illustrated, though, was a willingness to promote Sarah Palin using celebrities who had given the network no assent to the promotions. Fortunately, said celebrities had enough fortitude to push back on FOX's implications that Palin could acquire the star guests and proven [PROVES?] that Palin's talent suffices only to present a hodgepodge of old videos rather than bringing anything new to her audience.

On this April Fool's Day, FOX presents a series of jokes, albeit unintentionally. From its laughable standards of journalism in presenting satire as news to propping up Palin as a valid contributor to the national discourse then recognizing she can hardly showcase others' interviews without widespread ridicule, it would be hard to say if the joke is more on FOX or its viewers. Since the coverage lacks a holiday to be bereft of integrity, though, FOX's network ends up more dangerous than hilarious for its dedicated viewers. In turn, viewers should demand that FOX stop continually misinforming its audience, intentionally and otherwise -- and in the meantime, choose to Turn Off FOX.

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Originally posted at Turn Off FOX.

Let The Sun Shine In......