9.8.2021

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 In today's class, we reviewed the documentary Outfoxed and specifically the background to its making. It was quite interesting to see the power that one national election can have on the ideologies of Fox media,  and I wondered what could have happened if Bush hadn't been detested for his undemocratic presidential decision by a supreme court of a Republican majority. Likewise, if there had been a recount of the Florida ballots, I'm sure Al Gore would have won the 4 years. However, I also see how Fox news could have degrated the opposite in order to secure the position for Bush, so in reality, I think that it would nevertheless have been a fierce battle. On top of that,  we talked about US and Russia signing a meaningless nuclear disarmament treaty because in the past, there has already been a proliferation treaty signed and ratified by the UN, so although it was a big ordeal for Fox, this in reality may not have been an effective decision because both countries still own a magnitude of weapons. However, I researched more on the Moscow Treaty of Bush, and found that years after in 2010, a similar agreement (the New START) had been ratified with Russia, and so I was wondering if that is also as ineffective as the one that Bush signed because it was after the NPT. Is this another trick to make their relations look good? Or is this a legitimate contract which isn't superficially effective?

Now that I understand the political happenings which took place prior to releasing the documentary, it was obvious to see why these former producers were willing to tell the truth. During the interview, countless employees alleged being forced to turn down topics that would violate extremist ideologies such as same-sex marriage, and having their character slandered only because they pose different opinions. If only they have done it more subtly, would it not have resulted in this documentary. However, I think that even if they were able to pull strings, it would still result in damaging liberals. Moreover, due to Fox's outrageous tactics, other news networks have emulated their techniques, evolving media into a scope of political extremism. I believe that suppressing the oligopoly structure and allowing for equal competition can assuage media's bias based on their multi billionaire owners. Moreover, this made me realize to always contemplate the media source before taking it literally.

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