On Friday night, Tucker Carlson, Fox Newshost warned his viewers to not trust other networks, because “they are lying”.
His comments came during the first minute of his opening segment and were in reference to news reports regarding the IG report that was released on Thursday. He specifically was talking about the news reports of the conclusion of the inspector general that any bias on behalf of the FBI employees had no impact on their actions.
“If you’re looking to understand what’s actually happening in this country, always assume the opposite of whatever they’re telling you on the big news stations and that’s certainly the case here. They are lying,” Carlson stated after observing that the “hair spray geniuses of cable news” ignored the complexity of the report in favor of talking points and before declaring that the IG report is a virtual catalog of political bias and abuse of power.
Carlson has been criticized and laughed at for his comments about “the big news networks” . The Hill observes that Fox News has been at the top of cable news ratings for 197 consecutive months. Arguably, Fox is the big news network on cable.
Journalists responded on Twitter.
Not just sad. Repugnant. Literally damaging to our democracy. https://t.co/vpB1hpFdZo
— Michael Barbaro (@mikiebarb) June 15, 2018
Fox News host last night. "If you're looking to understand what's actually happening in this country, always assume the opposite of whatever they're telling you on the big news stations." Which is like a GM executive saying: if you want to risk your life, take a ride in a Ford.
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) June 15, 2018
Always trust the boyfriend who tells you to ditch your family and your friends. https://t.co/0Mm0oj3sYt
— Will Saletan (@saletan) June 16, 2018
Seth McFarland, creator of Fox’s Family Guy, responded as well, saying he is ashamed to work for Fox.
In other words, don’t think critically, don’t consult multiple news sources, and in general, don’t use your brain. Just blindly obey Fox News. This is fringe shit, and it’s business like this that makes me embarrassed to work for this company. https://t.co/kC7MPYxdgZ
— Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) June 16, 2018
Why It Matters
In a week where President Trump’s contentious relationship with the media has been on display after months of calling all news except Fox News “fake news” and Fox News hosts willfully toeing the administration line for their favorite viewer who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, this is yet another shameful moment to watch.
Tucker Carlson, himself a hairsprayed cable network genius who spouts GOP talking points ad nauseam, knows better than to push this nonsense yet does it anyway. When Fox News was disparaged by President Obama, the “big news networks” rallied behind them in a show of solidarity. Now Tucker Carlson is telling his audience that those same networks that stood with Fox News are a threat and should be assumed to be the enemy of the American people.
While the mainstream media is by far not perfect, the notion of Fox News, President Trump’s favorite network, throwing stones would be laughable if it weren’t so dangerous.
