Well, at least he did so to the extent that he could. Admiral Michael Franken commented on Twitter yesterday about his experience with Fox News and its broadcast to the troops in East Africa.
In the thread he implies that he was able to nix Fox, at least under his command. And he’s right (as we all well know): none of this mess would be possible without the divisive bile pouring out of the ring-leading “right”-wing “news” network. I had never thought about its noise being blasted directly at the troops. Explains much of the current radicalization of some (many?) of our military.
And, down in the thread, the situation is further described in an exchange with a “Westside Fireman”, who describes how Fox led to strife in the ranks...
In that thread are more examples of the constant, splintering Fox noise, not only in the military but in other government and public offices. It’s more than troubling. I had no idea of the pervasiveness of the propaganda.
If we make it through this current phase and get Biden+Harris fully installed, near the top of the list of priorities has to be somehow curbing, if not completely shutting down, the true cause of many of the U.S. troubles. The faux-news lineup including the likes of Spin Sannity, Liar Ingrown, Fucker Claptrap, and Poo Blobbs, must be reckoned with. If we could only put Skeletor (Rupert Murdoch) out of business completely…but that may be dreaming too big — at least at this point.
The task of eradicating the rot-wing diatribe is herculean. I don’t even know where to start, except possibly with a constant barrage of sponsor boycotts. Some sort of legislation, changes at the FCC, must be enacted. Hell, maybe even some sort of Constitutional amendment is in order, due to the insidious and widespread nature of the problem. (Unlikely to happen, even if it might do the trick.)
It’s funny — we almost need some sort of Ministry of Truth, but of a type completely opposite that found in the dystopian “1984.” Snopes and other online fact-checkers are a bit too scattered and lack any gravitas to sway the masses. Some sort of body comprised of members from science, government, business, and citizens that could lay foundational principles of truth and that could be an immediate source of fact-checking and even real-time assessment of informational accuracy. That, too, may be an idea “too big” and unwieldy to actualize. But something’s got to bring those who have strayed into the stupid-sphere back down to earth. If not, our post-truth world will likely become even more pervasive, ever more violent, and untenable to the point of complete collapse.
And on a final note, our current “president” is responsible for incitement of insurrection and sedition. But the rift-wing media has been stoking the fires and fanning the flames that Trump unleashed on the Capitol. They are nearly as guilty as he is, and should be treated accordingly.