Dan Froomkin says what we are all thinking (in our spare time):
Even by the standards of a television network that constantly pushes disinformation and conspiracy theories, there is something appalling and momentous about Tucker Carlson this week launching a series explicitly designed to erase the real history of the January 6 insurrection and incite more right-wing violence.
So although it’s been a long time coming, starting this week members of the journalistic profession — individually and collectively — have no excuse anymore: They must publicly and urgently distance themselves from a so-called “news” network that is in fact the opposite of news.
Fox “News” is a right-wing propaganda operation wrapped inside an entertainment channel. It does not adhere to the professional standards of journalism. And every moment is it allowed to operate under the guise of “news” gives it more credibility than it deserves as it chips away at our democracy.
The old excuses – that Fox does employ some “real” journalists, that taking a stand against Fox wouldn’t be politically neutral, that journalists should be “at work, not at war” – simply don’t hold up anymore.
Every reporter who ventures outside the Beltway knows what a toxic effect Fox is having on the mindset of too many Americans. It is the inverse of enlightenment; the antithesis of what journalists stand for.
Resolved:
Call it the Fox News propaganda network. Or a right-wing messaging platform. Or political infotainment. Or something. Just not “news”.
Froomkin recommends a series of other steps for stripping “news” from the propganda network’s brand. This one seems especially timely:
Demand that search and social media platforms not treat it as news. Legitimate news organizations should not have to compete against propaganda under the rubric of news. Demand that Facebook News stop linking to Fox. Urge Google News to downgrade or identify propaganda outlets.
The Guardian article Froomkin links to contains this quote regarding Carlson in a letter from Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League to Lachlan Murdoch of Fox Corporation, CEO to CEO:
“Clearly Carlson has the right to make outrageous claims,” Greenblatt wrote. “But freedom of speech is not freedom of reach. You have no obligation to validate his views with airtime on your platform and, I would argue, a moral responsibility not to do so.”
But the investors want what the viewers want, so….