Question to americans from a brit. I don't want to start a war here (and if there's 2 things that causes americans to go ranty in a hurry it's guns and free speech) but free speech has its tradeoffs. In 'free speech' discussions too often things are spoken of in the abstract, so let's be concrete here; this is an example of a deliberate and serious misrepresentation of reality (AKA a lie) that is permitted by free speech. So, is this an acceptable cost? Should you have laws against it? Have I even framed the question correctly? (no descent into shouting matches please).
In the image Fox News used with the Seattle headline, it looks like a real war zone... not even a protest with rubber bullets or tear gas but as if it were Iraq in 2003. Why try to sell this to the public? What’s Fox News’ goal here? Manufacture outrage just to get viewers? Something else?
>Why try to sell this to the public? What’s Fox News’ goal here? Manufacture outrage just to get viewers?
Fox News was literally created to feed off of American right-wing outrage, under the pretense of providing a "fair and balanced" alternative to the liberal media. They're also deeply in the tank for the Republican party and conservatives, and always have been.
So... yes. They're giving their viewers a vision of the world they believe exists, but that the rest of the media is hiding from them.
