In November 2020, US President Donald Trump’s aggressive leadership style fueled a divided America. These elections are extraordinary and extremely tense. Not only have people had to go to the polls during a once-in-a-century global pandemic, but the country has also endured a racially charged summer of social unrest. The media world is also rife with polarized political rhetoric, disinformation and general confusion about what is true and what is false.
Tensions flared as Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Trump, his rival, is not taking it lightly. Backed by his political allies, he declared on the show “the great betrayal of the American people” as Biden wrested the vote from him. Although there was no evidence that it was a hoax, many people believed him thanks to the conspiracy theories and hoaxes that Fox News kept broadcasting. Of course, those convictions came to a head on Jan. 6, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
This two-part playlist shows how Fox News has evolved into Trump’s well-oiled propaganda machine, promoting “big lies” that threaten and contribute to the destabilization of American democracy.
FOX News is a major cable network that dominates U.S. airwaves with its political and business news — albeit from a more right-wing or conservative perspective. The network was founded in 1996 by Rupert Murdoch, with Roger Ailes as CEO, as a direct challenge to the more left-wing and liberal CNN. Its core value is “fairness and balance” – that’s their official slogan. Since then, Fox News has contributed enormously to Murdoch’s vast fortune and has given him enormous power over many important people and organizations.
Under Ailes, Fox News, while a conservative network, will take opposing political stances on nearly every aspect of its programming. However, according to Fox insiders, everything changed when Trump entered politics and Murdoch took over as CEO. Ailes was fired for sexual misconduct, and when Murdoch became CEO there was a dramatic shift directly to the extreme political right.
The company dropped its “fair and balanced” mantra. While reporting on Trump campaign rallies in 2018, many were also shocked that two of Fox News’ most famous anchors (Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro) took the stage and began promoting him publicly. Fast forward to 2020; when Trump needed a platform to show the American people how he was robbed, it should come as no surprise that Fox News was on his side.
Election night was followed by weeks of voter fraud-related content repeated and discussed by Fox’s most prominent news anchors and talk shows, as well as major topics covered in lineups and commentary talk shows. When protesters turned up at the Capitol, it was evidence that FOX had cemented itself as Trump’s primary media spokesman and was heavily involved in undermining valid messages — and it showed no sign of letting up.
