Dwain Northey (Gen X)

I heard this statement the other day in reference to Donald Trump and Fox talking heads, they have an ‘agnostic relationship with facts’. My immediate thought was that is the most appropriate statement I think I have ever heard refence the parties in question.

ag·nos·tic

noun

1. a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God.

Just that the part of the Websters definition pertaining to God and the characterization completely fits.

Tucker loves to take a statement completely out of context then pose the question to his audience that makes it sound perfectly reasonable . Here is an example having to deal with the Nord stream pipeline and Ukraine.

“Anyone, we thought about it for even a moment, realized that of course Vladimir Putin didn’t blow up his own pipeline. Why would he do that? The Biden administration blew up Vladimir Putin’s pipeline. Of course, Joe Biden himself had promised on camera that he would do it and then Biden officials publicly celebrated after it happened. So. every rational person knew the truth. After a few months, the people who lie for a living decided to make up a news story. Unfortunately, this one was even dumber and less believable.  

OK, they conceded Putin didn’t do it. That was wrong, we’ll admit it was not Putin who blew up the pipeline. It was the Ukrainians, but not the Ukrainians. You’re familiar with the ones who are getting billions of American tax dollars every month. No, no, no. Not our Ukrainian friends. They would never do that. “

Half steps and blatant lies with the harmless question with a sarcastic undertone and all the Faux minions believe total B.S.

Hannity has the audacity to actually call something a hoax or a lie that is the factual reporting then double back and assert that he never said what he really said. This is a similar tactic that Donald uses but dear leader, only listening to the voices in his head, has no problem spewing lies with impunity. When called out on the lie Donny doubles down and piles more manure behind the lie making it even more outlandish.

Fox is a propaganda network it tries to stimulate others to accept without challenge his own assertions, or to act as they want them to do. The idea of using suggestion or stimulation as a propaganda device is that it will lead a public to accept a proposition even though there are not logical grounds for accepting it. The propagandist, i.e. Carson, Hannity and other on air personalities usually tries to side-step critical reactions from his audience, and therefore suggestion is one of his most important tools.

How does the propagandist network use this tool? By making broad and positive statements. By presenting those statements in simple and familiar language. By refusing to admit, or even suggest, that there is another side to the question.

As a nation and a world, we need to start having a relationship with facts and ignoring cherry picked media that have convinced us the facts aren’t true based on the filter they wish to present said facts. Back to the Walter Cronkite days of “And that’s the way it is…” unvarnished reporting of the fact.