One of the favorite methods of distorting the truth that Fox News uses frequently, is to quote liberals out of context or to leave out significant portions of their statements in order to create the false impression that they have abandoned their liberal allies and/or their principles. And no one does this better than the folks at Fox Nation (see my ebook Fox Nation vs. Reality for more than 50 documented examples of Fox lies). In the latest episode, the Fox Nationalists glommed onto an op-ed by Michael Moore that was published in the New York Times. Moore’s title for the article is “The ObamaCare We Deserve.” Fox Nation went with “Michael Moore: ‘ObamaCare Is Awful’
It’s true that Moore wrote that he regards the Affordable Care Act as an awful implementation of health insurance reform, and that he regards it as far inferior to a single-payer plan such as Medicare For All. He criticizes the rollout of the website and the pandering to insurance companies and drug manufacturers. He recalls that the core elements of ObamaCare were originally proposed by the right-wing Heritage Foundation and were the basis for RomneyCare in Massachusetts.
These are common criticisms that liberals have noted from the beginning of the health care debate. It is not a surprise to anyone following the discussion that a more universal plan was favored by progressives who essentially settled for what was possible to get through the congressional obstacles thrown in their path by Tea Party Republican opponents whose extreme positions were steeped in knee-jerk hatred for President Obama.
What Fox Nation left out of their article was that Moore also praised ObamaCare as “a Godsend,” that made it possible for millions of Americans to get coverage that was unavailable to them before. He heralds the fact that, for the first time, people have access to quality, affordable health care. He also blasts the red-state governors who have declined billions of federal dollars that would make Medicaid available to their residents. By refusing to expand their state Medicaid programs they leave more than 5 million people without any insurance at all.
The tactic employed here by Fox is one that they use routinely to mislead their audience about the public’s approval of ObamaCare. They often cite polls that show a majority of Americans have an unfavorable view of the program. However, they fail to note that many of those expressing that view are liberals who believe that the law did not go far enough toward providing a universal solution. A recent poll by CNN revealed that ObamaCare was opposed by about 60% of respondents. But 12% of them were unhappy liberals. So, CNN makes clear, “That means that 54% either support Obamacare, or say it’s not liberal enough.”
But don’t expect Fox News to report the truth that a majority of the nation support the new law, even after its troubled launch. Fox is far too consumed with distorting reality to be concerned with little things like facts. They are even so afraid that their audience might accidentally be exposed to some truth that, rather than linking to the Michael Moore article they were quoting at the New York Times, Fox linked to an abridged version of it at the uber-rightist Breitbart News. The BreitBrats referred to Moore’s column as a “blistering op-ed attacking the president from the far left,” and they failed to note Moore’s praise for the law as “a Godsend,” nor his blistering attack on the right-wing opponents of access to quality, affordable health care. Hiding the original source material and linking to cherry-picked excerpts is just another way that Fox keeps their deluded sheep in the corral.
So once again the Dodo Bird Preservation Society continues its policy of refusing to hear or see anything that goes against its hatred of everything Barack Obama stands for. Hey Mark, you got a clipart image of a blind and deaf monkey? It may come in handy before the midterms. 🙂
Can’t we get a law requiring Faux Noise, and all other media, must report factual news accurately?… In other words, they must tell the truth?…
I guess not, as long as the RepubliKKKLOWNS and teanderthals control the House… Get out there and vote BLUE people.
Fox isn’t really a news channel. Legally speaking they’re an entertainment channel, which is why they get to do whatever the fuck they want like that. Propaganda is entertainment, welcome to the future.
I agree Larry. It’s fine that they got rid of the “Fairness Doctrine,” But it would have been nice to see something called the “Honesty Doctrine” replace it. That would eliminate <90% of right-wing hate radio on day one, and Fox would have to start trying to do "journalism" again.
Fox News isn't any more of a "News" organization than I am writing comments on this website. Tapping phone lines is the closest Murdock has come to journalism which tells you everything you need to know about his motives, with regard to "News."
NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN are not innocent either. They wouldn't have to change there entire business model like Fox News would, but they would have to inform some of their staff(Chuck Todd comes to mind) that it IS your responsibility to correct misinformation when you have a guest on that repeats Lies. That's not to much to ask from our Journalists and it shouldn't be such a big leap to do that.
Fox News would struggle with this as there mission statement is to bring people on the air with the specific purpose of Lying and to keep there own audience in the dark to actual facts.
really getting sick of seeing their snippet of Hillary at the Benghazi hearing taken out of context. She must be really scaring the shit out of Murdoch to be playing it so often.
Many liberals, myself included, have been saying this long before Michael Moore’s op ed. Medicare For All MUST happen and soon.
And, at the risk of invoking Godwin’s Law, I’ll say that Fox News is nothing more than the propaganda arm of the Republican Party. Joseph Goebbels would stand in awe.
Of course if you read anything past the headlines, you would know most of what this article reports. The headline of the article was attention grabbing but upon reading it you find out that Moores opinion on the subject is to the left of the ACA. Speaking of misrepresenting, of the 5 million newly uninsured, more than half are in blue states. Check out New York alone. Encouraging people to read original articles with a link is a great idea and not just for Fox News.