Fox News: Critical obsession with racial theory follows story of racial baiting on the network



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This rage-filled man, who delivered his rant while positioned next to an “ANTI WHITE MANIA” graphic, was not a neo-Nazi filming a video for an underground network of like-minded extremists ideas.

He was Fox News’s Tucker Carlson, the most-watched host on one of America’s most-watched networks.

But while Carlson may be more open about it than most of his colleagues, what he does fits nicely into the larger theme being pushed by Fox as a network. Fox has a long history of responding to the fears of white America. But the programming in this vein has increased recently, taking root in the basic DNA of the chain.

Fox understands the panic shaking white America and exploits it for profit. Instead of using its platform for good faith discussions and debates about race, the network chooses to demonize those who seek to have it. He presents a terrifying world to viewers, then tells them, repeatedly, that he is the only entity in society resisting the nefarious forces that seek to destroy their way of life.

The network’s obsession with critical race theory, for example, illustrates how racial baiting has become an integral part of the network and has exploded on its airwaves in recent months. According to Media Matters, a progressive watchdog, Fox mentioned “critical breed theory” on its airwaves 901 times during the month of June. The organization said that in the past three and a half months, Fox had mentioned the topic more than 1,900 times.

The cover of Gwen Berry, the American Olympian who protested the Star Spangled Banner by turning away from the flag as she played, offers another data point. Over the past month, Fox’s website posted 24 stories focusing on her, often portraying her as an Olympian who hates the country – in the same way the network has portrayed other black athletes who protested against the racial injustices on the ground.

The examples are too numerous to count. Every day there is a new villain, a new avenue to stoke racial tensions, a new target to attack and fuel the outrage machine. One day, it’s Black Lives Matter. The next day, it’s Vice-President Kamala Harris. The next day, it’s Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. And so on.

And while the stakes may seem disparate, the topics convey a singular, clear, consistent and ever-present message: people who are unlike you threaten your way of life and the country as we know it. The far left radicals hate this country and they are trying to turn it into a socialist utopia!

Of course, the reality isn’t quite what Fox is presenting it with. Far left radicals do not control the White House. Joe Biden, a moderate Democrat, does. Wanting to improve the country does not mean hating it. And there is no secret plot executed by the Democrats to turn the country into a communist hell.

But it is also undeniable that the country – and the world – is changing rapidly. The demographic changes underway are expected to make minorities the majority in the United States by 2050. Blue collar jobs are automated and eliminated. And Americans are increasingly aware of social and racial injustices.

This change can be frightening, especially for white communities who make up the vast majority of Fox viewers. 94% of viewers who listened to “Tucker Carlson Tonight” from Jan. 1 to July 7 were white, according to Nielsen Media Research, the industry standard for measuring television audiences. Only 2% were black. (For comparison, over the same six-month period, CNN’s 8 p.m. hour had an audience that was 25 percent black, and MSNBC’s 8 p.m. hour audience was 27. % Black. These two audiences were 66% White.)

Derrick Johnson, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said all of Fox’s coverage “gets mixed up” and it’s not just Carlson who is trafficking in breed bait.

“They’re playing at the lowest common denominator of fear of white people,” Johnson said of Fox. “They are peddling fear at a level that harms communities.… They peddle fear from the morning shows and throughout the day.”

“If you think of the average person who consumes Fox News, their sense of reality is disconnected from the facts,” Johnson added. “It is disconnected from allowing different people to exist. It creates a level of tolerance towards things that are mean, hate-based and inhumane. It creates a feeling of us against them.”

Johnson isn’t the only person to call Fox recently. Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, wrote to Fox in April about the “racist rhetoric” on the network. This rhetoric, he said, “galvanizes extremists and ignites the fires of violence.” Greenblatt’s warnings were dismissed by Fox.

A Fox News spokesperson defended the network’s coverage in a statement to CNN, saying the network prides itself on welcoming “a variety of views from all political and social backgrounds.”

“As we have seen in many opinion pieces published on FOX News Digital, there are nuanced opinions on issues such as critical race theory, and therefore we believe it is important for our audience to ‘Hear from all sides on these critical issues, including prominent Black conservatives, ”the spokesperson added.

Fox’s strategy is unlikely to change as it has proven to be a model of profit and has led Fox to great financial success. It’s actually a money printing machine, lining the deep pockets of its billionaire founder Rupert Murdoch.

A frustrated Johnson noted that “race has always been one of the most powerful tools” used to empower people. He said he didn’t see much point in speaking with Fox executives about their programming, given that he saw it as “very focused, strategic and intentional.”

“I wish it could be banned, quite frankly,” Johnson said. “Because it creates more intolerance and more racial instability.”

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