Decoding Fox News

I watch all the Fox News you'd never want to.

A weekly analysis of 15 hours of Fox News programing hosted by Juliet Jeske a researcher and journalist with a background in covering extremism. decodingfoxnews.substack.com

  1. Podcast #211 - Fox News Finally Realized Conspiracy Theories Can Hurt Trump

    1 DAY AGO

    Podcast #211 - Fox News Finally Realized Conspiracy Theories Can Hurt Trump

    Fox News started last week dutifully hyping up Trump’s proposed White House ballroom. On Monday on every show, I covered Trump’s favorite vanity project was championed as a life saving measure that would protect the president and top-ranking cabinet officials from the bullets of a would be assassin. By Tuesday the network had moved on. Fox News executives are known for obsessively tracking audience reaction. I suspect that even the most diehard Fox News fans were just not that excited over an enormous columned building their glorious leader cannot stop talking about. The network switched its focus to the third attempt on the president’s life along with King Charles’ visit and the White House state dinner. Blurry surveillance video footage of Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the shooting, attempting to rush past a throng of armed security personnel was far more compelling than discussions about giant event spaces and drone-proof roofs. By mid-week the network made a pivot to scolding ‘Liberal lunatics’ for promoting conspiracy theories about the latest attempt on the president’s life. Since I started this project in February 2022, I’ve seen Fox News hosts promote conspiracy theories such as cultural Marxism, the great replacement, the great reset, birtherism, various false stories about Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden along with secret plots to promote insects as a main source of protein. Meanwhile the conflict with Iran was relegated to a minor story. At least twice last week Jesse Watters declared that the war was over only to start cheerleading for a swift victory the next day. Fox News hosts were also downright gleeful about the recent Supreme Court ruling that severely weakened The Voting Rights Act. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

    53 min
  2. Podcast # 210 - Fox News is the Defiant Parent in the Principal's Office

    30 APR

    Podcast # 210 - Fox News is the Defiant Parent in the Principal's Office

    At this point in the second Trump administration Fox News has become the parent of a spoiled child sitting in the principal’s office of an expensive private school insisting their kid did absolutely nothing wrong. The defiant parent stares back in scorn at an underpaid and overworked school administrator explaining. while sipping instant Maxwell House from a Styrofoam cup, how little Donny set fire to another teacher’s desk then faked an asthma attack to get out of detention. At the emergency room he threatened to fight the triage nurse after she determined his breathing was perfectly normal. President Donald J. Trump is the bratty monster who was never told no or given a boundary. As prices increase across the country and his poll numbers drop Fox News cannot face reality - the network helped raise this destructive beast. The pathological narcissist that they propped up and worshipped, and paid hundreds of millions in a defamation lawsuit to cover for has turned out to be a mad wannabe king hellbent on enriching himself and sticking his name and image on everything near him. As the president repeatedly makes false claims about the war with Iran the network dutifully repeats them only to correct itself hours later. The corporate heads as Fox News don’t seem to care as long as their ratings remain high and the profits keep rolling in. Little Donny might even burn his family’s McMansion to the ground before he’s finished. Hopefully we won’t all be burned to cinders along with him. Rupert Murdoch must be happy to have a lower tax rate. Last week the network also heavily promoted stories surrounding the criminal indictment issued against the SPLC (Southern Poverty Law Center). While the PBS News Hour dedicated slightly over one minute to the story it was the third most talked about topic on Fox News last week taking up 11% of the airtime on the shows I covered. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

    55 min
  3. Podcast #208 - Fox News: The War is Over! The War's a Mess! This is Not 3-Dimensional Chess!

    15 APR

    Podcast #208 - Fox News: The War is Over! The War's a Mess! This is Not 3-Dimensional Chess!

    Last week Fox News returned to its schizophrenic confused coverage of the war in Iran. In the mornings on Fox & Friends the conflict was depicted as a chaotic mess between a stubborn Iranian regime that refused to give an inch and Trump the misunderstood magical deal maker. The morning crew promised its viewers that although the war was a fiasco military success and lower gas prices were just round the corner. On Jesse Watters Primetime the Iranian regime was defeated and the war was already over. Trump had accomplished what no other American leader had done before - created peace in the Middle East by destroying the number one sponsor of terror. To many outside of the Fox News MAGA cult it seemed Trump brokered a brief ceasefire with Iran because he had absolutely no idea what to do next. Fox News, his personal propaganda machine, acknowledged but downplayed the fact that the two-week ceasefire included a 10-point plan that basically gave Iran everything it wanted including enriched uranium. The network also admitted openly that the Strait of Hormuz was essentially still closed, Israel continued to pummel targets in Lebanon and the Iranian people had not risen up and toppled their brutal theocratic government. Everything was terrible but the Murdoch owned media empire was determined to make it look like an amazing victory for its glorious leader. While Fox News put all of its focus on Trump’s possible strategy for ending the war in Iran the PBS News Hour included segments about: * Problems for farmers - fertilizer prices increase due to the war * How the war affected Muslim, Jewish and Christian holidays in the Middle East * Israeli strikes in Lebanon - the effect on civilians * U.S. service members with traumatic brain injuries * How the war is increasing inflation in the U.S. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

    56 min
  4. Podcast #206 - Fox News: Let's Pretend There is No War in Iran

    2 APR

    Podcast #206 - Fox News: Let's Pretend There is No War in Iran

    Last week Fox News decided everything was more important than the war between Israel, the United States and Iran. Although the conflict was still the top topic for the week most of the segments dedicated to it included retired military leaders pontificating on possible next moves for the commander-in-chief. While the PBS News Hour showed massive damage to residential buildings and energy infrastructure in Lebanon, Israel and other countries in the Middle East, Fox News featured war correspondents talking into cameras. Anyone watching Fox News would have no idea that civilian targets in Israel, Iran and Lebanon were hit. The violence in Iran was reduced to the same recycled aerial shots from the start of the conflict. The folks at Fox News appeared delighted that Trump decided to “take a break” from a war he seemed to start on a whim. None of us can truly know Trump’s motives for launching the conflict but suddenly the media stopped talking about the ever-worsening scandals surrounding the president and the Epstein files. While Trump’s poll numbers plummeted and gasoline prices skyrocketed Fox News was so desperate for distracting content it manufactured a fake outrage campaign against the actress Sydney Sweeney. Fox News claimed progressives were enraged that Sweeney sent well wishes on social media to her brother in the Air Force along with all troops stationed overseas. Any backlash she did receive didn’t amount to much except for a reason for Fox News to feature scantily clad photos of her. Most of the negative comments I could find online about Sweeney’s post were directed at President Trump or Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu not the actress. The network also hyped-up various crimes committed by undocumented immigrants while Sean Hannity trashed a YouTube children’s performer and complained about the horrors of spring break. Another major topic was the government shutdown over DHS funding which Fox presented as a major fiasco caused by Democratic lawmakers even though Republicans control both houses in congress and the White House. In a sign of true desperation the network featured an extended phone interview with the president on its number one rated show – The Five. In a scene out of a dystopian novel Trump face’s was plastered on a giant screen near the back of the studio as the hosts spoke to a disembodied voice. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

    55 min
  5. Podcast #205 - Fox News is Stumbling Trying to Cheerlead for Trump's War

    26 MAR

    Podcast #205 - Fox News is Stumbling Trying to Cheerlead for Trump's War

    Much like the seams in any suit jacket worn by the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Fox News is barely keeping it together. The network still can’t get its message straight regarding Trump’s disastrous war in Iran. Fox is following the lead of its glorious leader, a man who appeared to act impulsively, when he decided to attack a country of 92 million people with one of the largest militaries in the Middle East. Trump is highly skilled at selling himself, at least to his cultish base of followers, as a powerful leader who can change the world through his force of will. He is a bumbling fool when it comes to getting Americans excited about his flights of fancy - conquering Greenland, seizing the Panama Canal, managing Venezuela, crushing Cuba and destroying the government of Iran. Trump has also failed to excited the masses about some of his economic policies such as broad sweeping tariffs on imports or the acquisition of Venezuelan oil which the president called ‘garbage tar’ when he was on the campaign trail. Trump makes no real attempt to sell the need for military conflict to the American public. The average American couldn’t identify Nicolás Maduro, Miguel Díaz-Canel, and Ali Khamenei the deceased Iranian supreme leader or his son Mojtaba Khamenei in a line up. In comparison former president George W. Bush and his administration pitched the Iraq War for nearly a year and a half before the first shots were fired. Saddam Hussein and his sons Uday and Qusay became household names. Their excessive lifestyle and corruption along with their many crimes against humanity and the people of Iran were drilled into the minds of farmers, teachers and factory workers across the country. Bush was also exploiting a grief-stricken country as he falsely connected the horrific terrorist attack on 9/11 to Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. Trump isn’t helping solidify support for his poorly planned war against Iran as he plays golf on the weekends, holds press conferences with his fawning cabinet members, and accepts meaningless awards meant to stroke his ego. Many Americans view Trump as a puppet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has longed to attack Iran for decades. The war is already unpopular and will only get more despised if Trump doesn’t change the perception that he is fighting on behalf of a foreign government’s interest. Fox News doesn’t know which way is up. Grainy aerial shots of trucks and buildings being obliterated aren’t exactly heroic. There are no clear goals or milestones and seemingly no exit strategy to Trump’s latest wild endeavor. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

    54 min
  6. Podcast #204 - Fox News and the Land of Iranian War Make Believe

    19 MAR

    Podcast #204 - Fox News and the Land of Iranian War Make Believe

    Fox News twisted itself into knots to convince its audience that a misguided and poorly planned war in the Middle East was a brilliant idea after its glorious leader promised - no new wars. To accomplish the impossible the network’s hosts weaved intricate tapestries of lies filled with invented histories of domestic oil production, gas prices, Trump’s previous attacks on Iran, fairy tales of enriched uranium and a revolution that could start at any moment. Less than a year ago Fox News celebrated the success of Operation Midnight Hammer a military strike that was supposed to obliterate Iran’s ability to create a nuclear weapon. Then with very little warning Trump started a war with Iran under the guise that the regime was about to attack the United States or Israel with the same nuclear weapons he claimed to have wiped off the face of the planet. The zombie nuclear program seems to exist only in Trump’s mind and Fox News is happy to dutifully go along with his delusion. It’s getting more difficult with each passing day for the network to pull this off. Instead of the usual segments meant to keep Fox viewers terrified of undocumented immigrants, woke blue-haired liberals, transgender folks and urban crime the network has gone headfirst into a fabricated reality based on hunches, feelings and the dreams of a deranged narcissist with imperialist fantasies in the throes of dementia. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingfoxnews.substack.com/subscribe

    52 min
4.7
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

A weekly analysis of 15 hours of Fox News programing hosted by Juliet Jeske a researcher and journalist with a background in covering extremism. decodingfoxnews.substack.com

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