Fox News via Fox News Sunday is trying to create their own Obama scandals by editing video of the president’s remarks on the NSA/Verizon controversy.
Fox News video of Obama:
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The clip that Fox News Sunday played showed the president saying, “in the abstract, you can complain about Big Brother and how this is a potential…program run amok. But when you actually look at the details, then I think we’ve struck the right balance.”
Fox News left everything the president said before those two sentences.
Video of what the president really said:
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Obama said, “And by the way, with respect to my concerns about privacy issues, I will leave this office at some point, sometime in the last — next 3 1/2 years, and after that, I will be a private citizen. And I suspect that, you know, on — on a list of people who might be targeted, you know, so that somebody could read their emails or — or listen to their phone calls, I’d probably be pretty high on that list. So it’s not as if I don’t have a personal interest in making sure my privacy is protected. But I know that the people who are involved in these programs — they operate like professionals. And these things are very narrowly circumscribed. They’re very focused. And in the abstract, you can complain about Big Brother and how this is a potential, you know — you know, program run amok. But when you actually look at the details, then I think we’ve struck the right balance.”
Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace used the edited Obama clip to push Fox’s narrative that Verizongate is part of a bigger pattern of corrupt presidential behavior. Later, Wallace threw it to Sen. Rand Paul so he could do his defender of liberty schtick, and the circle of paranoid right wing propaganda for political and personal gain was complete.
Fox has been busy creating their own reality when it comes to these Obama “scandals.” Yesterday, Fox News’ Neil Cavuto cut the mic of a liberal who dared to use facts while talking about these supposed scandals. In Fox News’ version of reality, Barack Obama is a more corrupt Richard Nixon. The right wing media is reinforcing the bubble of delusion that is keeping Republicans detached from reality. This is the sort of behavior that continues to cost Republican candidates elections.
Republicans use their edited Fox News videos to reinforce conspiracies that the rest of the country doesn’t believe. When Fox News fueled Republican candidates campaign on these conspiracies during a competitive general election, they lose because they look crazy.
Fox News is doing what it does best. They are selling paranoia to their paranoid audience. In the process of selling this fear of the black president, they are editing video and distorting Obama’s remarks. Fox News is not engaging in journalism. This is partisan political activity.
At Fox News, fair and balanced treatment of Barack Obama gets left on the editing room floor.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
