11 words from John Oliver that expose Fox News' fundamental hypocrisy

[shemp]

"They only pretend to believe these things on television for money."

11 words from John Oliver that expose Fox News' fundamental hypocrisy

(CNN) - HBO's John Oliver dedicated his entire 21-minute show on Sunday night to a deep dive into false information being peddled by Fox News and other conservative media outlets about the coronavirus, and the impacts those falsehoods are having on President Donald Trump and his decision-making.

It's a stunning exposé into, as Oliver puts it, how "the feedback loop between Fox and Trump has run way ahead of the science." (You can -- and should -- watch the whole segment here.)

But there was one thing -- actually one sentence of 11 words -- that really stood out to me in the Oliver segment. And it was this, when he was talking about Fox News' coronavirus coverage:

"They only pretend to believe these things on television for money."


The point Oliver was making was that even as many Fox News anchors were pushing the idea that coronavirus was less virulent than the flu and that it was the product of a hyper-partisan media trying to "get" Trump, the company was warning its employees to stay at home and "reducing the staff footprint at our headquarters in New York."

I'll stop quoting there, but the point is that Faux News is telling its viewers to go out and risk their health and lives while they tell employees to stay home. They don't give a **** what happens to their viewers, it's entirely about money.

We knew this of course, but Oliver makes it absolutely clear.

 

[Dr. Keith]

To be fair, most of the viewers are rugged individuals, while a lot of the employees are effete east coasters.

 

[theprestige]

Those eleven words don't expose sod all. They're the claim. The evidence that supports the claim and exposes the hypocrisy runs to a lot more than eleven words.

Anyway, kudos to John Oliver for discovering that a media organization is hypocritical. : eyeroll :

 

[blutoski]

I'll stop quoting there, but the point is that Faux News is telling its viewers to go out and risk their health and lives while they tell employees to stay home. They don't give a **** what happens to their viewers, it's entirely about money.

This is a lesson I learned in the 80s when a friend of the family's parents started dabbling in healthfraud.

They imported ginseng, and later grew it locally up the Fraser valley until demand cratered. For years, they talked about their magic cure all weed.

Two things that caught my attention:

1. They put identical product into different boxes, with different health claims. One was for migraines, another for colds, another for allergies. Immune system boosters, lupus management. Their excuse: thanks to the placebo effect, it does whatever the customer expects it to do.

2. Her dad got cancer. He went straight into surgrery, radiation, chemo. Zero interest in the garbage he was flogging on victims. He only pretended to believe in it for money.

 

[theprestige]

The problem with exposing hypocrisy is:
1. Everybody's a hypocrite
2. Everybody knows this already
3. Nobody cares

Hypocrisy is the low-hanging fruit you reach for when you want to get outraged but you don't want to do any real legwork.

 

[casebro]

And cue: "The Liberal media is the same! Film at 11:00.."

 

[Dr. Keith]

The problem with exposing hypocrisy is:
1. Everybody's a hypocrite
2. Everybody knows this already
3. Nobody cares

Hypocrisy is the low-hanging fruit you reach for when you want to get outraged but you don't want to do any real legwork.

Yep, I can already imagine my Fox-watching-relative's response to this: they have to do that with their employees or they'll be sued by the unions.

This is why we don't discuss such things.

 

[theprestige]

And cue: "The Liberal media is the same! Film at 11:00.."

Of course they're not the same: John Oliver hasn't done an expose on their hypocrisy.

 

[grunion]

The problem is not solely their hypocrisy. It is their influence over policy and power. Hannity meets with Trump every day to get their talking points aligned.

 

[theprestige]

Hannity meets with Trump every day to get their talking points aligned.

Please tell me someone is paying you good money to believe this.

 

[arthwollipot]

Anyway, kudos to John Oliver for discovering that a media organization is hypocritical. : eyeroll :

Oliver doesn't "discover" things. He exposes them to a huge audience in an informative - and hilarious - way. Remember his segment about the Sinclair Broadcast Group?

 

[grunion]

Please tell me someone is paying you good money to believe this.

Is someone paying you good money to deny it? Or is it just willful ignorance?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/28/magazine/how-far-will-sean-hannity-go.html
https://www.newsweek.com/sean-hanni...-line-and-they-talk-multiple-times-day-924659
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/05/media/donald-trump-sean-hannity-coronavirus/index.html

 

[theprestige]

Oliver doesn't "discover" things. He exposes them to a huge audience in an informative - and hilarious - way. Remember his segment about the Sinclair Broadcast Group?

Oh yes. "News" as comedy. I almost forgot.

Congratulations to John Oliver for telling people who'd already decided that Fox News was hypocritical that their worldview was indeed correct. Maybe next week he'll do CNN or MSNBC.

 

[theprestige]

Is someone paying you good money to deny it? Or is it just willful ignorance?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/28/magazine/how-far-will-sean-hannity-go.html
https://www.newsweek.com/sean-hanni...-line-and-they-talk-multiple-times-day-924659
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/05/media/donald-trump-sean-hannity-coronavirus/index.html

"To get their talking points aligned" is your invention. Or is it?

Dun dun dunnn!

 

[Giordano]

Is someone paying you good money to deny it? Or is it just willful ignorance?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/28/magazine/how-far-will-sean-hannity-go.html
https://www.newsweek.com/sean-hanni...-line-and-they-talk-multiple-times-day-924659
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/05/media/donald-trump-sean-hannity-coronavirus/index.html

There are other options. One doesn't have to believe what one posts to enjoy posting it. The reward doesn’t have to be financial.

 

[Travis]

Oh yes. "News" as comedy. I almost forgot.

Congratulations to John Oliver for telling people who'd already decided that Fox News was hypocritical that their worldview was indeed correct. Maybe next week he'll do CNN or MSNBC.

I've been watching MSNBC pretty much nonstop since I got grounded to my house and I must have missed when they didn't practice what they preach regarding COVID19. They very quickly sent most of their staff home to do their shows from their house (Hedi Przybyla reads the same books as me, instant crush!) and seem to have stuck to all the major recommendations by the health sciences community.



As opposed to Fox News which can't decide if it is all a hoax or something real.

 

[Dave Rogers]

I've been watching MSNBC pretty much nonstop since I got grounded to my house and I must have missed when they didn't practice what they preach regarding COVID19. They very quickly sent most of their staff home to do their shows from their house (Hedi Przybyla reads the same books as me, instant crush!) and seem to have stuck to all the major recommendations by the health sciences community.

Yes, but the new whataboutism doesn't require an actual subject for "what about" to refer to. If you take it as axiomatic that everyone else is as bad as you then it automatically excuses everything you do wrong, and since axioms can't be proven then there's no need to come up with any actual transgressions by people you disagree with; you can just assume that they logically have to exist.

Dave

 

[plague311]

Oh yes. "News" as comedy. I almost forgot.

Congratulations to John Oliver for telling people who'd already decided that Fox News was hypocritical that their worldview was indeed correct. Maybe next week he'll do CNN or MSNBC.

You're not saying he's wrong, you're just upset that he's right and not doing all of the stations? Like there's ******* time to cover every single channel in 1 of his 30 minute broadcasts.

Perhaps, as shocking as this might be, it isn't the fact that Fox does it, but the problem is the extent in which they do it. I don't understand why you can't just saying "yeah, they are pretty bad" but instead you engage in this whataboutism. Do you think there's a reason other countries don't let Fox in? I'm sure it's all just anti-conservative bias, amiright?

 

[lomiller]

11 words from John Oliver that expose Fox News' fundamental hypocrisy



I'll stop quoting there, but the point is that Faux News is telling its viewers to go out and risk their health and lives while they tell employees to stay home. They don't give a **** what happens to their viewers, it's entirely about money.

We knew this of course, but Oliver makes it absolutely clear.

This isn’t quite true IMO. They may have started out only believing them on TV for money, but repeating lies, hearing those same lies repeated from other voices has the effect of re-enforcing them so that they become “true” even if they initially knew they were lies.

 

[lomiller]

This isn’t quite true IMO. They may have started out only believing them on TV for money, but repeating lies, hearing those same lies repeated from other voices has the effect of re-enforcing them so that they become “true” even if they initially knew they were lies.

further:
A good comparison would be something like false memory syndrome, or for that matter prayer. The act of saying things and seeing those same things validated and reflected back can trick your mind into believing things, even when they are not true.

The each chamber that is the conservative media was invented specifically to create these types of belief in false facts, and it doesn’t matter that the commentators are part of the machinery and can even see the gears I don’t think they are immune to the effects any more than priests are immune to the effect in religious organizations.