Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Watching Fox News Worse Than Watching No News At All

While I don't stay on them for extended periods, I do check out the batshitery that passes as news on some of the far rights alleged news outlets. It's a case of knowing what your enemy is doing and being prepared to counter whatever batshit craziness Republicans and Christianists may bring up in conversation should one find themselves stuck talking with them. I generally cringe at some of the craziness that bears little resemblance to actual reality. Now, a new survey conducted as part of Fairleigh Dickinson University's latest Public Mind poll found that individuals who watch Fox News were less informed than individuals who watched no news channels at all. I've always viewed Fox News asa warped propaganda vehicle for the most deranged elements of the GOP and far right and this poll vindicates that evaluation. Here are highlights from Queerty's coverage:

Not only does Fox News do a horrible job covering LGBT stories but, according to a recent poll, watching it actually makes viewers less informed than if they had just sat around watching a red sock tumbling in the dryer.

Fairleigh Dickinson University’s latest PublicMind poll phoned a random sample of 612 New Jersey adults via landlines and cell phones. They then asked them how they get their news and questioned them about about the success of the revolts in Syria and Egypt, the popularity of Republican presidential candidates, the European financial crisis and the political affiliation of Occupy Wall Street protestors.

Researchers found that the best informed respondents watched Sunday morning news programs. Such shows “tend to spend a lot more time on a single issue than other news broadcasts, and… are less likely to degenerate into people shouting at each other.”

They also found that “there is something about watching Fox News that leads people to do worse on these questions than those who don’t watch any news at all.” Fox News respondents were:
•18 points less likely to know that Egyptians overthrew their government.
•6 points less likely to know that Syrians have not yet overthrown their government.
•No more or less likely to name the Republican frontrunner in the GOP presidential race.

You can also pretty much count on Fox News not reporting this recent study either.

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