Decoding Fox News

The folks at Fox News promoted Donald J. Trump as both an unflinching authoritarian who openly defied state governments and a peacemaker who ended a 3000-year conflict with the snap of his fingers.When their glorious leader did not win the coveted Nobel Peace Prize his servants at Fox News predictably went into a full emotional meltdown meant for an audience of one - the contest was rigged, the judges were woke, it was a meaningless prize, even Norwegians have Trump derangement syndrome, Alfred Nobel was a monster anyway, and people all over the world will demand that Trump get the prize next year.Of course the Israel-Hamas war was not 3000 years old and Trump is more of a fascist than pacifist. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Last week the folks on Fox invented a political rivalry, promoted a blatant lie about the U.S. healthcare system and trotted out what looked like a phony Antifa whistleblower. The network also blamed most of the problems in the United States on the most marginalized group in the country - undocumented immigrants.When reality doesn’t line up with the Fox News agenda the network creates its own dystopian fairy tale complete with menacing masked characters, wildly misleading statistics and tired xenophobic tropes.Trump’s use of federal law enforcement in three American cities - Memphis, Chicago and Portland, Oregon was seen as something to be celebrated and championed. Never mind that most wealthy industrialized countries would never think to use their military in a law enforcement role. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Last week Fox News had three stories to tell - former FBI director James Comey would finally face justice for a crime the network couldn’t explain; Donald J. Trump was nearly murdered by a malfunctioning escalator at the U.N. and American cities were being overrun with mobs of blue-haired, transgender, Antifa activists backed by left-wing billionaires.Greg Gutfeld screamed at Jessica Tarlov like a petulant child after she mentioned that right-wing violence was more prevalent than left-wing violence. Jesse Watters completely forgot statements he made immediately following the murder of Charlie Kirk and Sean Hannity dedicated entire episodes to rehashing old grievances surrounding what he called the political persecution Donald J. Trump.Fox News personalities downplayed the pending government shutdown and praised President Trump for what they claimed was a brilliant speech at the United Nations. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Last week on Fox News Jesse Watters invited a cavalcade of conspiracy theorists who enthusiastically demonized the transgender community and blamed them for the murder of Charlie Kirk. Never mind that the suspect in Kirk’s murder, Tyler Robinson, is a cis-gender young man who was raised in a deeply religious and politically conservative gun-loving family.So far there is no evidence that Robinson worked with an accomplice or coordinated with a larger political organization. According to the series of text messages released by authorities even Robinson’s romantic partner, who happens to be transgender, had no advance notice of his plans to allegedly shoot Charlie Kirk.Watters could have invited former law enforcement officials, a criminal profiler, or a ballistic expert to talk about the horrific crime. The Fox News host could have spoken with people Charlie Kirk worked with at his foundation Turning Point USA or a student who was inspired by Kirk’s advocacy for his faith or political causes.Instead, Watters gave a platform to conspiracy theorists who have peddled false stories about sex trafficking, racist immigration schemes and lies about the 2020 presidential election. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Fox News hosts and guests blamed Kirk’s murder on leftwing extremism even though most political violence in the United States is committed by rightwing individuals and groups. In Colorado a young man radicalized in white supremacy committed a mass shooting at a school on the same day Kirk was killed.While the folks at Fox News called for an end to the violence and heated rhetoric they also demonized and trashed anyone left of center by making them collectively responsible for Kirk’s death as well a slew of other assassination attempts.The message was clear - liberals, progressives and leftists are evil extremists who hate the country. If they don’t stop criticizing the right the Trump administration would hunt them down, destroy their lives and silence their voices. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Last week most American media companies broadcast live coverage of a humble press conference organized by adult survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking criminal enterprise in front of the Capitol building.Fox News completely ignored it. The network spent most of its focus on Trump’s threats to send National Guard troops into Chicago, RFK Jr.’s Senate hearing and what one Fox contributor described as the Democrat Party’s death spiral.Women sharing their stories about suffering abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, a high-rolling billionaire with powerful friends and allies including the president was not a story that Fox News wanted to elevate. Fox producers did include a few short segments about Sydney Sweeney’s jeans commercial - no really, they did that. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Hosts dig into Fox News's jubilant coverage of Trump's proposed National Guard deployment to Chicago, despite misleading crime rate statistics. They tackle the troubling media narratives surrounding a recent mass shooting, emphasizing the need for a deeper dialogue on gun violence and mental health. The discussion spans the legacy of redlining, the struggles of an undocumented immigrant, and critiques on the Republican Party's disconnect with public sentiment. Plus, a light-hearted reflection on building a podcast without funding, illustrating their journey with humor.

Last week on Fox News California Governor Gavin Newsom’s social media posts got everyone worked up, Laura Ingraham celebrated Trump’s federal takeover of Washington D.C. and the network pretended Trump negotiated a major peace deal with Russia and Ukraine even though he didn’t. Fox also finally uttered the name of ‘he who shall not be named’ - Jeffrey Epstein.Fox News also spent a lot of time and focus on gerrymandering battles in Texas and California, a fatal car accident involving an undocumented immigrant driver and Cracker Barrel’s newly designed logo.The phrase ‘Cracker Barrel’ appeared in the transcripts 40 times last week while ‘Israel’ only showed up seven times. After two weeks of showing some interest in the Israel-Hamas conflict the network went right back to ignoring it. Fox News spends very little airtime on the plight of nearly two million people in war-torn Gaza or the remaining Israeli hostages who have been held captive for nearly 700 days. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Last week Fox News misled its viewers about gerrymandering, hyped up a summit with Putin in Alaska, downplayed Trump’s decision to send the National Guard into Washington D.C., demonized a man who hit a federal law enforcement agent with a foot-long Subway sandwich and finally admitted no one really cared about the Sydney Sweeney jeans commercial.“Fox & Friends,” “The Five,” and “Hannity” boasted to their audiences that a recent poll showed that only 12% of Americans were offended by the Sydney Sweeney jeans ad. Instead of conceding that they spent far too much time, energy and focus on a commercial no one cared about, Fox News personalities portrayed the poll as validation for their excessive coverage.The jeans ad was a three-week story on the network while the word ‘Epstein’ did not appear once in the transcripts from last week. Fox News is apparently not concerned that its glorious leader might have had sex with minor-aged girls or supported a sex trafficking ring in any way. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

Fox News hyped up the Trump-Putin summit as if it would be this huge victory for the president. It was an abject failure. The legit news team didn’t hide the fact that the summit was a nothing burger. The opinion news team attempted to spin it. I take you through the entire train wreck covering five hours of Fox News programming from “The Five” to “Hannity.” This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe