How Right-Wing Lies Become Mainstream News

The Fox Cycle, Explained
Media Matters

The Fox Cycle is the process by which Fox News pushes right-wing fringe stories into the mainstream news. Fox distorts facts, spreads myths as truths and devotes heavy, one-sided coverage to make viewers believe in baseless, manufactured stories -- and, worse, to convince mainstream media outlets to cover these lies.

The Fox Cycle occurs in six steps: 

Triumph Sends Fake Fox News Girls To Trump Rally

Fox News Lies About Ban The Box?

Mighty Morphin Position Changers

The Daily Show
Daily Show Full Episodes,  More Daily Show Videos,  Comedy Central Full Episodes

Jon Stewart Rips Conservative Media

60% Of Fox News Statements Mostly False

Ken O’Brien

PunditFact tallied up all of the statements that they evaluated from the three cable news networks and found that 60% of all the statements they examined from Fox News were mostly false or worse.

According to PunditFact, here is how the three cable networks did on statements that the fact checker examined:

At Fox and Fox News, 10 percent of the claims PunditFact has rated have been True, 11 percent Mostly True, 18 percent Half True, 21 percent Mostly False, 31 percent False and nine percent Pants on Fire.

Fox News Is OFF the Dish Network

Ken O’Brien

The folks over at Fox News had hoped to bully Dish Network into giving their toxic channel the cheap air time it demands, but being banished from the television lineup is only proving that Dish has more clout.

Because Fox News has played the victim instead of offering a fair price to for its weak programming, Dish dropped the conservative propaganda channel, including Fox Business, much to the delight of Americans who value their brains. 

Outfoxed • Rupert Murdoch's War On Journalism • FULL DOCUMENTARY

FOX Impacts Local News

Ken O’Brien

There are a disturbing number of places around the U.S. where you don't have to turn on Fox News to end up watching it.

That's because Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes' 21st Century Fox owns and operates 28 stations in major media markets across the country. And while these stations might seem independent, Fox uses them to push misinformation to viewers like you.

Fox News is tearing us apart

By Paul Rosenberg from SALON

The continuing right-wing effort to make a hero out of Michael Brown’s killer, Darren Wilson, may not turn out so well, if the past is any guide. Remember Cliven Bundy? Donald Sterling? George Zimmerman?

Just because liberals don’t like someone doesn’t mean he should automatically be a hero to conservatives.  There was a point when even the National Review seemed to recognize this — editor Rich Lowry once wrote a column titled “Al Sharpton Is Right,” about the need for charges to be filed against George Zimmerman, when Florida officials were dragging their heels.

How Would You Answer O'Reilly?

Rupert Murdoch And Fox News’ Blog Trolls

Ken O’Brien

In Murdoch's World: The Last of the Old Media Empires David Folkenflik, the media correspondent for NPR News, explains how Rupert Murdoch the man behind Britain’s take-no-prisoners tabloids, who reinvigorated Roger Ailes by backing his vision for Fox News, who gave a new swagger to the New York Post and a new style to the Wall Street Journal, survived numerous scandals—and the true cost of this survival. He summarily ended his marriage, alienated much of his family, and split his corporation asunder to protect the source of his vast wealth (on the one side), and the source of his identity (on the other). There were, however, moments when the global news chief panicked. 

The Birth Of, And Truth About, The Newest Right Wing Lie

Ken O’Brien

If you are one of the followers of the widely discredited Fox “News” Network, you’ve probably heard the latest distortion of fact.

For those who don’t follow this particular propaganda outlet, the latest exercise in myth making goes like this:

 “Welfare spending per day per household in poverty is $168, which is higher than the $137 median income per day. When broken down per hour, welfare spending per hour per household in poverty is $30.60, which is higher than the $25.03 median income per hour.”

RANDOM WINGNUT POST-ELECTION WHINING

From Wonkette

Do you people have any idea how hard it is to sift through all the insane rightwing mutterings about the reelection of Barack Obama so that we can bring you the very best? Neither do we! It all starts looking the same after about five minutes! And so, this collection of freakouts will, of necessity, be something of a sampler plate from the great smorgasbord that is the Great 2012 Wingnut Butthurtosphere.

Andrew Sullivan Tells Stephen Colbert: Karl Rove’s “head just exploded” (VIDEO)

Ken O’Brien

Andrew Michael Sullivan is a British-American author, editor, political commentator and blogger. He describes himself as a political conservative, though he has been increasingly at odds with the Republican Party on many issues. His focus is U.S. politics but he frequently writes about culture and society.

Sullivan is a speaker at universities, colleges, and civic organizations in the United States. He has been a guest on national news and political commentary television shows in the United States and Europe. Born and raised in England, he has lived in the United States since 1984 and currently resides in New York and Provincetown, Massachusetts. He is an openly gay Catholic.

Sullivan is a former editor of The New Republic and the author of five books. He is perhaps best known as the author and editor of his blog, The Dish, which mainly focuses on political issues.

Fox News Is Already Preparing For An Obama Win

Ken O’Brien

I’ve been sitting here watching Fox News and they are getting ready, even before the first votes are in, to make excuses.

If they know anything they know the truth. How else could they work to twist it so effectively?

Wait to see where they place the blame. 

Fox News Begins To Backpedal Benghazi Story

Anti-Muslim Video Was The Trigger

From Think Progress

The right-wing is beginning to reverse itself on insisting that a anti-Muslim YouTube video had nothing to do with the attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya. Republicans and Fox News have scorned the Obama administration for weeks for initial statements that the assault in Benghazi, that took the life of Ambassador Chris Stevens, was an outgrowth of a protest sparked by this video.

Kristol: Obama Turned Around Economy

Ken O’Brien

Bill Kristol, Editor of the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard, told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, “Bush was president during the financial meltdown, the Obama team has turned that around pretty well.”

Fox News Picks Up ALEC’s Banner On Voter ID Laws

Ken O’Brien

One day after ALEC decided to give up the battle for repressive voter ID laws, Fox News picked up the fallen banner.

Special Report with Bret Baier featured a report by Shannon Bream that advanced the misinformation effort supporting the campaign for these laws that seek to disenfranchise elderly, young and minority voters.

It was amusing that the report led off with a statement by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley citing such laws as “common sense”. Apparently she was unaware of the famous observation by Mark Twain as to how uncommon “common sense” actually is.

Never missing the opportunity to include one of their favorite right wing demons, the report included a comment by Van Jones who has been the subject of vilification by Fox News for years.

Here’s the report as it appeared tonight:

Romney’s Health Issue

Ken O’Brien

No single issue has been a greater focus of those who oppose the Obama Administration than the Affordable Care Act (ACA), frequently referred to as “Obamacare”.

It can be credibly argued that this was the issue that gave birth to the “Tea Party” movement in concert with claims of “death panels” and the “government takeover of healthcare”.