MARCH 29, 2023 – Those of us who are repulsed by the Duly Defeated are quick to draw a direct connection between FoxProp’s viewership and Defeated’s political success within the Republican Party. I know (and respect) a number of people who are dedicated members of that viewership. I’m also well acquainted with their blanket rejection of all other non-right-leaning media platforms. “They’re too liberal,” I’ll hear it said of NPR, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times and The New York Times, or “They’re really biased.” Outlets such as Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Guardian, Financial Times, Politico and ProPublica rarely find mention in my conversations with FoxProp adherents.
No semi-objective observer can reasonably claim that the reportage of any of the aforementioned sources is unbiased. Except when reporting on something entirely mechanical or technical—bond yields, a plane crash, storm damage, data transmitted by the James Webb telescope—nearly every story involves reporter/editor/publisher biases; perspectives informed and influenced by a host of factors. Moreover, what’s reported and what gets omitted; what’s given headline treatment and what’s not, produces an additional, inevitable layer of bias.
What’s evolved among the cable “news” outlets, however, is more than biased “reporting.” CNN and MSNBC, in particular, are almost entirely unabashed opinion platforms. Very little straight-up, who-when-what-where-news is presented. The predominant format features a “host” who identifies a topic, offers an opinion, then interviews a stable of pundits who are asked leading questions reflecting the host’s opinion, with which the “guest” always agrees.
I find these opinion sessions beneficial when they involve certain experts and observers I’ve come to know, like and respect for their experience, knowledge and analyses, but in the end, it’s mostly opinion.
Now back to FoxProp. I call it that—short for FoxPropaganda—because it’s a shameless propaganda outlet, which is different from a biased one. I used to watch Fox regularly, and after the Duly Defeated was elected, I noticed that FoxNews—what had long been FoxOp—had flipped a switch and become an actively sycophantic organ of the master of The Personality Cult.
What many in my camp found disturbing was how in the course of FoxNews moving from FoxOp to FoxProp, it was actively and directly undermining fundamental principles of our democracy. This trend culminated with election denialism, which, in turn, exploded in the January 6 assault on the Capitol. Moreover, FoxProp led the smitten to believe that the insurrection was “not as bad as you see with your lying eyes.”
Fast forward to the Dominion Voting Systems litigation—and the most recent revelations in last week’s “court filings.” I’ve read that “depending on how the judge rules,” the case will go to trial next month. I interpret this to mean, “if the judge denies Dominion’s motion for summary judgment,” which I’m betting he will so deny*, the case will be tried before a jury in April.
Given what we’ve seen in the way of internal texts and emails among Fox hosts and executives, the trial will be a royal doozy, with a FoxProp-crushing verdict. If my hunch is wrong, and the judge grants Dominion’s motion, his opinion will be the royal bell-ringer. Either way, revealed to the world will be how FoxProp was intentionally putting forth a big time lie; a lie that undermined faith in the most fundamental aspect of our democracy: the integrity of our electoral system. Exposure of this dangerous lie, especially if coupled with an award of meaningful damages—enough to send Fox advertisers fleeing and Fox stock plummeting—could do more for accountability than a trifecta of indictments (and convictions, even) of the Duly Defeated.
Finally, truth will have its day in court. But ironically, will FoxProp viewers even know?
*Summary judgment is always a long shot; it’s easily defeated by a demonstration (not necessarily proof) that there exists a “genuine issue of material fact.” Generally, judges take a very conservative approach, giving the non-moving party the benefit of the doubt and thus avoiding an appeal (if the motion were granted) and reversal.
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© 2023 by Eric Nilsson
