December 25th, 2010
How many factual errors can you find in this quote from Fox News:
Conservative groups and lawmakers are firing back at the Southern Poverty Law Center for releasing a new report labeling some mainstream conservative organizations as “hate groups” for their opposition to gay marriage.
In its latest report, the center added 18 “anti-gay groups” to its list of active hate organizations, including Concerned Women for America, the Traditional Values Coalition, the Family Research Council and the National Organization for Marriage.
I see three mistakes:
Two sentences, three factual errors. None of us seriously expect Fox News to be fair and balanced, but we at least expect them to be — well, I guess we’d best not expect anything good at all.
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Donny D.
December 25th, 2010
The SPLC added 5 new anti-gay groups to its hate group list this year. 8 other anti-gay groups were already listed as hate groups.
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/winter/the-hard-liners
Rob Tisinai
December 25th, 2010
Donny, you’re right. Figures — I hate making a mistake when reporting someone else’s error. Of course, this just makes Fox’s mistake all the worse.
Steve in MI
December 25th, 2010
That doesn’t even address the jounalistic malpractice that accompanies the factual errors:
There is a difference between TWO lawmakers doing something and the implied plurality “lawmakers” doing something. To omit words like “handful of” is to intentionally change the meaning of the article from a recitation of facts to propaganda.
There a clearly some anti-gay groups on the list. To air-quote or scare-quote the term is both propaganda (there go that word again) and, one presumes, insult to those groups’ effectiveness. I would think NOM would be PROUD to be known as an anti-gay group – no quotes.
Fox: overrating balance and misunderstanding fair, for your radical conservative convenience.
L. Junius Brutus
December 25th, 2010
Some mainstream conservative organizations? Faux as usual.
John in the Bay Area
December 25th, 2010
Why does anyone think these are mistakes? FOX, the foreign owned and controlled media group, has its own reasons for getting American conservatives in a lather. It probably serves their overall goals in the US, whatever those might be.
Mortanius
December 27th, 2010
Silly Man,
Don’t you know facts are for kids?
In the media today, it doesn’t matter if it is factual or not, it just matters if you get it out there and YELL IT ENOUGH AND SPAM THE NEWS WITH IT SO THAT IF YOU SAY IT LOUD ENOUGH AND LONG ENOUGH IT MUST BE TRUE.
lol, oh I mean LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tony Jazz
December 27th, 2010
Fox News—-if we don’t like it, we’ll just change the facts to fit our point of view!
(global warming, gay rights, racism in America, weapons of mass destruction, immigration…..)
RWG
December 27th, 2010
I think the FCC or whatever governmental agency may have jurisdiction, should prohibit FOX from calling itself “Fox News”. They are clearly NOT a news organization. They are a right-wing propaganda media organization which distributes misinformation for the Republican Party in order to sway the voting public. In no respect are they a journalistic endeavor and should not be allowed to identify themselves as such.
Aeval
December 27th, 2010
Friedrich Nietzsche would have loved Fox News: “There are no facts, only interpretations.”
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