The free market in lies
Media Matters has a depressing report on the way cable news in the US talks about abortion.
A Media Matters study of 14 months of evening cable news programs found that discussions of abortion were weighted toward anti-choice speakers, which resulted in widespread misinformation on the topic. Of the three networks, Fox News aired the largest number of inaccurate statements about the most prevalent abortion-related myths, and MSNBC was the most accurate.
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Media Matters analyzed the following four abortion-related misinformation claims:
1) Government funds given to Planned Parenthood through Medicaid are illegally used to pay for abortions;
2) Birth control acts as an abortifacient;
3) Planned Parenthood “harvests” or “sells” or is “profiting” from fetal tissue; and
4) The Center for Medical Progress’ work or videos are “journalism” or fair depictions.
But it’s not as if people get their “information” from watching tv news oh wait yes it is.
All findings about statements relate to the four abortion-related misinformation claims on qualifying segments:
- 705 statements containing inaccurate abortion-related information aired on Fox News;
- 158 statements containing accurate abortion-related information aired on Fox News;
- 70 percent of Fox News appearances* were by people — including hosts, correspondents, and guests — who either identify as anti-choice or who consistently or mostly made anti-choice statements;
- CNN had three times the number of anti-choice guest appearances as pro-choice;
- 49 percent of MSNBC appearances were by people — including hosts, correspondents, and guests — who either identify as pro-choice or who consistently or mostly made pro-choice statements;
- 6 percent of MSNBC appearances were by people — including hosts, correspondents, and guests — who either identify as anti-choice or who consistently or mostly made anti-choice statements;
- 40 percent of all appearances on all three networks were made by people who either identify as anti-choice or who consistently or mostly made anti-choice statements;
- 17 percent of all appearances on all three networks were made by people who either identify as pro-choice or consistently or mostly made pro-choice statements;
- 62 percent of all appearances on all networks — including hosts, correspondents, and guests — were male; and
- There was one appearance by a group that represents and advocates for reproductive rights for women of color.
Well it’s not as if disinformation can cause any harm…
I do have to wonder what it would take for PP to be able to successfully sue Fox.
People really still get their news from television? Not the internet?
Yes. There really are people who still watch TV news. Not everyone thinks the Internet is the only place to get information. Some people even read the newspapers, and news magazines.
Major cognitive dissonance is in effect here then… newspapers I get (though they’re expensive) but in the time it takes to watch a single news segment one could easily read several blog entries/news articles that are stuffed with significantly more useful information.
Really? You think most people read that fast? A single news segment lasts only a very short time and panders to the short attention span. An online article “stuffed” with useful information would need to be much longer, and some people might read that fast, but not the majority. (Don’t think I’m saying that it’s good that TV news does this; I’m only saying it does this. I think it’s bad)
And the internet just isn’t satisfying for some people. There are many different possibilities in obtaining news that people can tailor to their own personalities and needs. This should not require any cognitive dissonance at all to recognize that not everyone approaches the world the same way.
And I would point out that it is much easier to avoid hearing anything you don’t like when you go on the internet than it is in more traditional media, where it is all presented together. You may choose not to read the article in the paper, but most people are going to see the headline, at least. On the web, people set up their news feeds to contain only what they’re interested in, which is good for those of us who don’t like sports and don’t really care which goat won the best dressed goat contest at the county fair, but it also permits us to wrap ourselves in a protective bubble much easier.