Why Faux News Is So Popular

I think I’ve figured it out. I think I know why so many people watch Faux (which in French means “false”) News. (And yes, it really is Faux News since at least three different studies over the years have shown that the “news” that Faux reports is full of misconceptions and, dare I say it,  outright lies. Especially their “talk show hosts” like Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly who add their own “spin” to the “truth” they report.)

Psychologists suggest that people tend to do two things when it comes to information: think the worst (or at least think bad things) about people who are different than them (or situations they don’t agree with) and they tend to believe the bad things that are said about people (and situations) before they’ll believe the good things.

I have a bumper sticker that says something like “The truth is greatly influenced by what you want to be true.”

And herein is where Faux News excels. It plays to people’s prejudices, it plays to their fears, it plays to their biases and it plays to their greed.  (The entire Republican platform is essentially how to get government out of business and how to slash social programs so we can make more money. Ironic given it is in bed with the radical religious right, which claims to be Christian, and whose leader (Jesus) said that all his followers should give away everything they own to follow him. But that hypocrisy has been addressed elsewhere.)

So essentially, Faux News tells its viewers and listeners what they want to hear. That it’s all someone else’s fault (usually whatever minority has had the audacity to assert their equal rights) that they’re not richer, or have a bigger house or a faster car or a better job. It inflames their fears, which allows them to justify in their own heads their prejudices and bigotries.

But just since the election of Barack Obama, Faux News (through their broadcasts or their pundits) has called for the repeal of some very important constitutional amendments and the roll back of some very necessary programs. And unfortunately, given the nature of human beings (or at least of Americans), it’s likely that their viewers will soon be calling for such repeals and roll backs as well.

It’s sad, really, that so many people are so content to remain so misinformed, ignorant and fearful.