Regular readers know we occasionally marvel at the headlines that run on Fox Nation. In May, for example, we talked about an Occupational Safety & Health Administration effort to prevent heat illnesses among outdoor workers, which led Fox News' Fox Nation website to run this headline: "Obama Regime: Working Outdoors Can Kill You."
My esteemed colleague Kent Jones used the opportunity to launch the TRMS Infoxication Writing Challenge, mocking Fox's ability to turn routine news into "anxiety-filled conspira-bombs pointed squarely at the heart of our socialist overlords."
We've covered this phenomenon several times since, but if we were to rank the Fox headlines based on their inherent ridiculousness and offensiveness, I'd say this gem from today would be right up near the top.
I should note that the headline not only seems to accuse the president of being some kind of traitor, it also underscores a striking ignorance -- Libyan officials are mortified by Tuesday night's violence, support the U.S. presence in the country, and have begun making arrests as part of the investigation into the murders. Under the circumstances, having the U.S. president call his Libyan counterpart to reinforce the diplomatic ties is hardly controversial -- it's no different from George W. Bush calling Iraqi leaders after violence that killed Americans during the war in Iraq.
But the truth is neither provocative nor scandalous, so Fox Nation has to give reality a little touch up. At most news organizations, a headline like this would lead to dismissals. At Fox Nation, a headline like this is called "Thursday."
Kent Jones has taken to calling Fox's headline writers, "news alchemists." It's a title that's well deserved.
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If Romney was actually near anything resembling a leader, he would have put out a press release by now denouncing this vile nonsense. Instead, it's not hard to envision that he and his staff are currently doing little jigs over it.
Remember,he has to get 50.1% of the votes and anything that helps him get there is welcome.
says the salesman.
I really have to ask the question have conservatives so over-worked themselves into such a convulsion because the President is a black man (he's half white also, but they don't see that)? Daily we are treated to such paranoia, such chicken little the sky is falling NOW, such hysteria from the right - frankly I think they need to be medicated NOW.
Add in to this delusional nightmare that the right has the worst, most entitled candidate since Dubya, and these people are batshyt crazy.....Dear G-d, I know I don't pray often enough, but please, oh please, save US from ourselves. WE have seen ourselves, and we's crazy, H-E-L-P! I promise I'll eat all my veggies, please....
Haloperidol, IV.. I'm serious and you're really onto something, the right wingnutia require medication, now!
A few times now I've suggested that someone might need to "adjust their medication", only to be informed with irritation that they don't take any medication, thankyouverymuch. Imagine the looks I've gotten when I go on to suggest that this might be the adjustment they need to make...
Vulture/Voucher 2012
Proving Two Rights DO Make a Wrong!
;-)
That kind of psychopathy requires long term in-patient treatment, not mere medication.
I've always like this exchange from The Talons of Weng-Chiang (Doctor Who):
"You've been drinking."
"Never!"
"Then it's time you started."
(Or at least that's close enough.)
Good one, though my all-time favorite "drinking" quote is by Douglas Adams:
Vulture/Voucher 2012
Proving Two Rights DO Make a Wrong!
;-)
Faux Snooze: Lyin' to the public since the day we were born.
Just try watching Fox and Friends for five minutes. They are the unfortunate ones from the Circus who have to follow Romney around and clean up the mess.
To coin a phrase,'they eat that $hit up'. Then they regurgitate it up into tomorrows talking points.(little farts of faux wisdom)
nomore,
How disgusting, but then again, how true.
Once again, FOX fans the flames of ignorance, and creates unnecesarry drama and tension. Exploitation of national security events in an attempt for political traction. We've seen it before, folks.
A thermonuclear explosion requires two hemispheres of plutonium to smash together.
A perfect political storm requires Fox News and The Onion to unite.
I don't watch Fox News, but seeing that, hearing Romney, now Ryan, it just makes me sick. I feel bad for the families of the lost. Shouldn't we all be better than that? Aren't we all supposed to back each other up as Americans? What happened to real patriotism?
Belinda:Real patriotism disappeared the day the astroturf tea party was hatched in the Koch bros.boardroom,along with Dick Armey.Since then it has been nothing but hate lies and noncompassion for fellow human being's.
I feel you. And you know that whole "patriotism" thing is just convenient talk for the right.
The first nasty republican strategist I can remember was Lee Atwater who was working for the senior Bush. I think Atwater came up with the Willie Horton message.
Yep. And where's Willie Horton when they need him?
FOX fanning the flames of ignorance. Hardly newsworthy.
I understand Fox is biased, but should NBC be throwing stones after being caught altering tape twice (Martin shooting, and Romney campaign stop), and the recent "Today" show showing Kardasian mom talking about her breast implants during 9/11 moment of silence? I think NBC has a self esteem issue.
A particularly lame attempt at false equivalence.
NBC staffers were fired. Fox employees get their own shows.
Certainly the GOP leaders must do something about this.... Oh, right. I forgot for a moment. They will be on the shows reinforcing the headline as soon as they can.
Why do they think they (GOP leaders) need to pander to this lowest base of the GOP? Those folks are already going to show up and vote against Obama anyway that they can. The PACS that are aligned with this pond scum are already going to spend their money bashing the President. What does this dishonesty actually get them?
Why hasn't Mel Brooks made a movie based on Fox News???
High Anxiety?
Actually, according to IMDB, he executive-produced a TV series in the late 1980's called "The Nutt House" - perhaps that would be more apropos.
Vulture/Voucher 2012
Proving Two Rights DO Make a Wrong!
;-)
What's really sad is that at the time of the graphic grab, 90,000k people had 'liked' it on Facebook. I have yet to understand why people want to be willingly mislead. Well, ok, from a psychological standpoint, I do understand it. But still. Does anyone believe that anyone at Fox either a) thinks that what they are spitting out is accurate or b) cares at all about completely misleading the public? Can everyone on the staff there be that deceptive and uncaring about what they do and how it weakens this country? Is everyone who works for this company that selfish and thoughtless?
There will be two basic classes of people who work for Fixed Noise, unprincipled scum, and gutless tools.
FOX can no longer call itself a news organization with this type of inflammatory headline
It's obvious that the editors of that putrid site often don't even read the articles they link before running the outlandish headline they made up.
I don't know how many times the headline wasn't just skewed it wasn't even close to true.
But it's all they've got. They have firmly decided that objective, reasoned analysis has a liberal bias so they've taken to creating an alternate reality. And for the dimbulbs that occupy that site, they've succeeded.
News? From fox? No, propaganda, yes. I assume that Fox is referring to the fact that 10 Libyans died defending the US embassy while many others were wounded? That Libyans rescued the Ambassador and brought him to a hospital at great peril? That Libyan doctors worked on the Ambassador for 90 minutes, but, couldn't revive him? That they helped wounded Americans? All the Libyans who are mourning their dead also deserve some solace? That the USA appreciates help? BHO has the brains to say thank you to people who are not fanatics. To say Americans who are given help are grateful to those who give it at great risk to themselves and to their families. That All the AMERICANS were not killed by a well organized force is due to Libyan allies? Al Queda planned that raid. They used the movie to whip up some support and try to pretend it was Libyans who were doing the raid. With ROCKET LAUNCHERS? duh? Libyans are now faced with ridding themselves of Al Queda. Thanks to the USA.
Fox headline writers.... are they vying for jobs at the Onion?
More like the Völkischer Beobachter, if Republicans ever get the kind of power they so obviously crave.
Why doesn't someone do a study on Fox News mind control. My Neighbors ruined two TVs by burning the Fox News logo into both TV screens. Then to save money they bought two TVs, one large and one small, so they could mount the small one over the large one. The small one stayed tuned to Fox News so they would ruin only the small inexpensive TV instead of the new large TV. Swear To God!!!
Calling Faux Noise headline writers "news alchemists" is an insult to alchemists. Alchemists exercised great care to document the procedures and results of their experiments as precisely and accurately as possible with the available equipment.
Has Faux Noise ever been careful, accurate or precise? Certainly not all three at once!
"Rover Lands on Mars. Legendary American Astronaut Drops Dead."
Other "acceptably accurate" Fox Headlines
Actually alchemists tried to turn lead into gold. Fox turns news into s__t.
Like arsonists...Fox News intentionally sets fires. For compensation, to get the attention, or just to get their rocks off. The more inflammatory the better and they all blow, enough to keep the firing burning until it burns itself out. Not a redeeming quality in the lot.
Clean up the Election Environment.
Canine ears pickup and pay attention as only they can, they get excited idea of treats, and tails wag in delight.
These and other animals are very interest in the environment, but need wide open spaces to do this naturally, our loved pets face the need to live small in parks and exercise area.
To help the election, clean up in the aftermath, and provide sure footing for the future of outdoor walks, our dogs cannot make or edit videos, and their skills at voiceover dubbing is limited. But human can help; dogs admit taking affection and social interactions for themselves leaving people kind with more skills but less experience than they need. Toward this end here are a few suggested ways to communicate the canine sentiments, if humans can follow these ideas, and model the environmental changes proposed, the canine community feels the world will be better place, for all.
http://www.muttmitt.com/WhyMuttMitts/videos.asp
I am mutt and I approve of this messsssage, woof, woof.
Somebody please make it stop! I'm all out of WTFs and feel like my head is going to implode. Rumpelstiltskin?!?!?!
Re: the above "thanks Libyan President" headline...
I dunno... it seems eminently reasonable, to me, for our President to call the Libyan President to thank him for their efforts in *trying* to protect our consulate, given that 10 Libyan security personnel died in the effort. So I'd think thanks *and* condolences would be appropriate.
This reminds me that incident a couple of months ago, when Obama met a woman in Ohio, and she died a few hours later. I was on another website, and commenters were trying to come up with a possible Fox News' headline. "Obama kills woman in Ohio." No, "Obama kills WHITE woman in Ohio." My personal favorite: "Obama's lead in Ohio decreases."