The Fake News Magnet
If you wanted to best describe the current state of news networks, try thinking of them like magnets. Like magnets, they do either one of two things: attract or repel. There is no in-between. Either you are getting drawn in or being warded off. These networks are more concerned with appeasing specific crowds and individuals rather than discussing facts and speaking objectively. If they needed to use “Alternative facts”, they most certainly will. If a particular event may rub their viewers the wrong way, they will conveniently ignore it. Hell, if they need to promote conspiracy theories and fabricated lies, they will do that. This agenda-centric news cycle has polarized society.
It is not just particularly one show or one network. There are multiple that are guilty. In the last four years, Trump endlessly called CNN “FNN”(Fake News Network). Countering Trump, Democrats call Fox News and Breitbart “Trump propaganda”. Both sides of the aisle have taken their respective jabs at multiple networks.
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Fox vs. CNN
Fox
Fox News panders to the Trump/Republican base. It is signature for them to speak on controversial topics and offer blistering takes. That aspect stems from the founder of Fox News, Rupert Murdoch. He is a media mogul who has founded hundreds of news networks, each of which imbibes Fox’s quality in some capacity. Consequently, people directly blame him for the spread of extremist thoughts and misinformation. New Zealand’s current government even went to the extent to censor Murdoch-owned networks due to these concerns.
That has yet to be the case in the United States. Fox News is a staple of many Americans. Anchors like Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham have become household names. Due to Carlson’s unwavering support for Trump and his condemnation of the Black Lives Matter movement, his show “Tucker Carlson Tonight” had the highest ratings of any show on cable television from June 2020-October 2020. Ingraham is also one of the higher-rated anchors as she is a Trump loyalist and opposes anti-Trump sentiment. She regularly criticizes Hollywood for trying to force people to groupthink and infamously told LeBron James to “Shut up and dribble.”
It is evident to see why Fox does the things they do; They get ridiculous ratings. It only serves to damage them to say anything positive about the left.
CNN
In a way, CNN is Fox News for liberals. It caters heavily to them and moderate/centrist democrats. Unlike Fox, CNN toes the company line when it comes to offering blistering takes. However, that changed during the Trump presidency. One of the most popular anchors on the network, if not the most, Chris Cuomo, is known for his unfiltered criticism of Donald Trump and his relationship with his brother, Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY). He will not hesitate to lash out personal attacks against the (now former) Trump administration.
People on the right call his takes out of line and refer to him as the Democrats’ puppet. CNN directly counters Fox on several issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement, Hollywood, the pandemic, etc. They will rarely discuss positive news if it regards Republicans or Trump. If they do, it will be concise and will likely try finding a flaw. CNN displays the same thought process when covering Democrats, but in reverse; They will rarely discuss any negative news and if they do, it will be fairly short coverage. However, CNN often attempts to discredit the notion that they have a left-leaning bias. For instance, they brought on Rick Santorum (former Republican Senator) to be a primetime co-host during their 2020 election coverage. They will also regularly interview former advisors or cabinet members of the Trump administration. People on the left scoff at CNN when they do this and call them out for trying to tread on both sides. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) even accused the network of being “Republican Apologists”. A specific anchor that some liberals find problematic is Van Jones because they feel he is a Trump empathizer.
CNN finds itself in a conundrum: satisfy their primary base or give both sides a platform? More times than not, they will choose option one because, like Fox, they also have an agenda to fulfill.
Pod Save America vs. The Daily Wire
Pod Save America
Jon Favreau, Daniel Pfeiffer, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor are co-hosts of the progressive podcast. Their scathing condemnation of Donald Trump and their experience with the Obama administration are prime elements of their popularity. Their criticism tends to get personal as the anchors are very expressive in their rhetoric (they curse). Due to their ages, they are popular with the young liberal crowd. They are admittedly biased since it is a podcast and not a news network. It does not negate their analysis, but listen to them with a grain of salt.
The Daily Wire/The Ben Shapiro Show
Ben Shapiro’s show on his network The Daily Wire is the most listened-to podcast on Facebook. He is a favorite among conservatives, despite often being accused of being too libertarian. Shapiro’s emotionless fast-paced speaking style combined with his high-level vernacular overwhelms his listeners to think “This dude is a genius.” It goes without saying that Shapiro is intelligent. That still does not imply he is always reliable and accurate. Like Pod Save America, Shapiro is admittedly biased as well. Neither of these podcasts is fake news per se, but they both undoubtedly are polarizing. Liberals will tend to only listen to liberal podcasts and conservatives will only listen to conservative podcasts, which is the foundational cause of polarization. The vilification of both conservatives and liberals results in a lack of willingness to listen to each other.
Newsmax/OAN (One America News)
Initially, I had no intention of writing about these two networks due to their absurdity, but sadly, they are too large to ignore. These networks are the two largest sources of misinformation. If you want to find something that epitomizes a dumpster fire, it would be these two channels. If you are looking for fabricated information, conspiracy theories, and blatant lies, these are the people you want. Simply put, both these networks are absolute garbage and society would be better off without them.
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In 2021, these news outlets are a mere fraction of the rising total. Social media’s growth has been in parallel with the increasing number of “News sources”. Every bit of information spreads in seconds and is easily accessible, which brings forth a severe consequence: misinformation. This active practice has cemented itself as a threat to polarize society. It decimates the public trust in the media and increases divisiveness.
Evident with the news sources discussed above, misinformation serves to pander to specific bases of people and directly aims to reaffirm an individual’s already-existing beliefs, whether they are true or not. We are at a point where the truth often seems unrecognizable. We are unable to have civil conversations on how to solve issues as each of us has our own perception of what is true and what is false. Instead of debating on the foundation of truth, we debate the truth itself.
