Why We Are Leaving Fox News
A brief explanation.
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We joined Fox News as contributors in early 2009. Combined, thatâs more than 20 years of experience, relationships, and friendships. For most of that time, we were proud to be associated with the network, if not necessarily with every program, opinion, or scandal that aroused controversy. We believed, sincerely, that the country needed Fox News. Whether you call it liberal media bias or simply a form of groupthink around certain narratives, having a news network that brought different assumptions and asked different questionsâwhile still providing real reporting and insightful conservative analysis and opinionâwas good for the country and journalism.
Fox News still does real reporting, and there are still responsible conservatives providing valuable opinion and analysis. But the voices of the responsible are being drowned out by the irresponsible.
A case in point:
Patriot Purge, a three-part series hosted by Tucker Carlson.
The specialâwhich ran on Foxâs subscription streaming service earlier this month and was promoted on Fox Newsâis presented in the style of an exposĂŠ, a hard-hitting piece of investigative journalism. In reality, it is a collection of incoherent conspiracy-mongering, riddled with factual inaccuracies, half-truths, deceptive imagery, and damning omissions. And its message is clear: The U.S. government is targeting patriotic Americans in the same manner âand with the same toolsâthat it used to target al Qaeda.
âThe domestic war on terror is here. Itâs coming after half of the country,â says one protagonist. âThe left is hunting the right, sticking them in Guantanamo Bay for American citizensâleaving them there to rot,â says another, over video of an individual in an orange jumpsuit being waterboarded.
This is not happening. And we think itâs dangerous to pretend it is. If a person with such a platform shares such misinformation loud enough and long enough, there are Americans who will believeâand act uponâit.
This isnât theoretical. This is what actually happened on January 6, 2021.
Over the past five years, some of Foxâs top opinion hosts amplified the false claims and bizarre narratives of Donald Trump or offered up their own in his service.
A brief explanation.
thedispatch.com