Fox News Used the War in Israel to Promote its Usual Fear Mongering About BLM, the Border Crisis and All Things Woke
A condensed overview of 15 hours of Fox News for the week ending 10/15/23
Fox News decided to go full throttle into the political quagmire that is the Israel-Palestine conflict even though it appeared that most of the overpaid stuffed shirts didn’t seem to know much about the history of the region.
The network is always a sensational mess of fear mongering, paranoia inducing segments steeped in panic. When the news cycle includes a war that is deemed important to the United States Fox goes converts itself into a blood lust filled propaganda nightmare machine.
Most of the coverage last week included images of the most heinous atrocities committed by Hamas repeated on a loop while Fox News hosts found creative ways to weave in concern for the U.S. southern border, defund the police, cashless bail, transgender panic, sleeper terrorist cells, Black Lives Matter and all things woke.
The legitimate news branch of Fox seemed to openly feud with the opinion side of the network as war correspondents reporting from rocket shelled cities tempered their message to label Hamas a militant organization while on-air hosts called them anything from subhuman to savages.
In the 15 hours of the network that I analyzed the word ‘terrorist’ was used 196 times whereas ‘militant’ was said 53 times.
On-air talent also seemed completely ignorant about internal political divisions within Israel which was not surprising as the network largely ignores the region.
Fox News viewers missed out on important context regarding the war and history in the region as well as a statement by former President Donald J. Trump where he called Hezbollah, an anti-Israeli Iranian-backed militant group, ‘very smart.”
Shows I covered last week:
Fox & Friends
The Five
Jesse Watters Primetime
Fox News uses the War in Israel to Talk about EVERYTHING but the War.
Although nearly everyone on Fox was guilty of inserting completely unrelated topics into discussions about Israel, Greg Gutfeld did it more than anyone.
“Remember this guy said there was no bigger threat to our homeland than white supremacy. So do you think that white supremacists were behind this?” said Gutfeld, “The Five,” 10/9/23.
“They hold more contempt for what they consider political adversaries, Trump supporters, parents that are concerned about their kids than they do for the actual terrorists. Right. They they they deem those people the danger. Imagine if our intel agencies had focused not on parents and Catholic churches, but maybe on this other stuff,” said Gutfeld, “The Five,” 10/9/23.
“We saw language early on white privilege. That's a racist term that deemed you an oppressor based on lineage. The neo-Marxist push by the progressive left that shaped BLM that we must punish the colonizers. Who are the colonizers? Those are the people with white privilege. Hence the free punch, which again riots, looting, murder, defunding the police. And if you dare question it, if you dared question in those years after the George Floyd death, God help you because the media defended this destructive impulse all the way through practically fund raising for BLM,” said Gutfeld, “The Five,” 10/11/23.
To me, you know, this is something that I have talked about frequently when it comes to Black Lives Matter, the organization as well as Black Lives Matter, the people that were marching in the street, the organization is a Marxist organization, are very hateful, don't have really the support of the people. And they took a movement and essentially hijacked it for their own purposes,” said Lawrence Jones, “Fox & Friends,” 10/11/23
“I don't want to hear any more about hate speech from anyone about misgendering a woman with a penis. That's gone. The ship has sailed because you're the same people that are defending this,” said Gutfeld, “The Five,” 10/9/23.
“They have so much ideological overlap here with BLM and Hamas and radical gender militants and activists,” said Gutfeld, “The Five,” 10/11/23.
“But they this administration does seem eternally surprised by things, whether it's the 6 billion or the pull out or the effects of like defunding the police or abolishing cash bail or legalizing theft, which creates more theft, or elevate elevating sanctuary cities to sainthood. To them cause and effect is like a foreign concept,” said Gutfeld, “The Five,” 10/11/23.
When in Doubt Blame Woke!
On Wednesday’s episode of “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Batya Unger-Sargon, opinion editor for Newsweek, equated wokeness with the pro-Palestine movement.
“These are the death throes of the woke movement. A lot of good hearted leftists and Democrats got bamboozled by this movement into thinking that this is how you stand up for justice. And it is now so clear the corruption, the moral rot at the heart of the progressive movement. It is becoming clearer by the day and people are really seeing it,” said Unger-Sargon.
I was confused by her statement. I understood her frustration with what she thinks is a misguided movement to advocate for Palestinians but she lost me when she include the ‘woke movement.”
Fox News and other conservatives very rarely have a definition for what they mean when they use the term - woke. I’ve seen everything from a Disney cartoon to an electric car described as being part of the universe that is ‘woke’ on Fox News.
I guess now woke now includes a decades-long, bitter, religious-steeped, regional conflict in the Middle East.
The Israel-Hamas War is Really About the U.S. Southern Border
I collected a list of quotes that Fox News host inserted into discussions about the Israel-Hamas war. The history of Israel-Palestine is remarkably different than the crisis at our southern border.
“The point of a border is to keep bad people out. And you're not doing that. We're screwed,” said Greg Gutfeld “The Five,” 10/9/23.
“And how long until this spills over into our country? Border Patrol just apprehended two Lebanese nationals yesterday. We don't want Brownsville to become Beirut,” said Jesse Watters “Jesse Watters Primetime,” 10/13/23.
“People thinking about at home, they're thinking about what? About our border. They're thinking about, well, you know, of course we're the big Satan and they're the little Satan. And I'm thinking about 6000+ Afghanis. These are called alien apprehensions at the border. I'm thinking about in Lebanon. 164. Iran, 659. Even Turkey, 30,000. Should we think that all these people want to be part of the American dream?” said Brian Kilmeade “Jesse Watters Primetime,” 10/11/23.
“What you're saying, Bill, is that the Egyptians want to protect their border and know who's coming into their country. That is a novel concept. Thank you very much, Bill, at being that right now,” said Dana Perino, “The Five,” 10/11/23.
“We have to talk about our vulnerability. Right. Our immediate threat. And we have one. It's called the southern border and it's unprotected. And it would have been nice for him to say, we're going to close. We're going to treat it like we did with COVID. Right. We got we got to close the border. We got to get troops down there. We've got to treat this as a serious threat to the United States,” said Greg Gutfeld, “The Five,” 10/10/23.
“How did we not know that this was happening? If we don't know what's happening, what what could happen in other countries? What could happen in America? Where we're not aware and then they just come to us in the middle of the night and then do something similar,” said Ainsley Earhardt, “Fox & Friends,” 10/12/23.
“And this of thousands of Muslim ghosts. We don't know who they are. We don't know where they came from, but they came from a bad neighborhood with terror problems. What is going to happen now?” said Jesse Watters, “Jesse Primetime Time,” 10/10/23.
“So they're not only coming here, they are already here. The United States is the most vulnerable. It has been to a terror attack in the last 20 years. We are looking at a significant risk of another 9/11 in our country because of Joe Biden's open border policies. The tactics, the targets may be different, but the threat is there and the threat is real there,” said Amber Smith, former deputy assistant to Defense Secretary, “Jesse Primetime Time,” 10/10/23.
Jesse Watters Conflates All Palestinians with Hamas
On Friday’s episode of “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Watters spoke about the situation in Gaza.
“The only thing harder than living in Gaza is leaving Gaza. This is a massive Palestinian traffic jam inching south away from Gaza City after Israel repeatedly warned civilians to evacuate before the ground invasion begins. But Hamas told the Palestinians to ignore Israel's instructions. Hamas telling Palestinians, you're going nowhere. Stay as our human shields and let us film your death.
To elicit the global outcry needed to restrain the Israeli ground operation. This is a cunning and immoral military strategy that also doubles as a PR strategy. The only thing that can stop the Israeli victory over Hamas is Palestinian collateral damage that Hamas is actively orchestrating. And the higher the Palestinian body count, the sooner the West stops Netanyahu. The United Nations is already serving as Hamas surrogates,” said Watters. He cut quickly to a clip from the United Nations.
“The scale and speed of the unfolding internal crisis is bone chilling. Gaza is fast becoming a hellhole and is on the brink of collapse,” said the representative from the UN.
“So, what do we know about the Palestinian people now? The people the entire world seems to sympathize for? 40% of Palestinians support suicide bombings. That's the highest level of support in the entire world. The Palestinians have also chosen Hamas to represent the controlling faction of their government.
The government charter describes killing Jews as one of its highest priorities. So the Israeli military is marching into a bombed-out husk of a city riddled with tunnels and terrorists and populated by a Palestinian people who not only harbor Hamas but are willing to die for Hamas.”
Watters left quite a bit out from his description of life in Gaza. Hamas rules over Palestinians with an iron fist. Dissent is not allowed.
The most recent protest by Palestinians against Hamas happened in July when thousands took to the streets of Gaza over power outages and poor living conditions.
One of the largest protests inside Gaza against Hamas occurred in 2019. Hamas security responded by beating protesters and firing live ammunition into the air. Dozens of people were arrested and had their homes raided.
Almost half the population of Gaza is under the age of 18. Children cannot vote much less have much influence on their government.
The Use of Dehumanizing Language - Textbook Propaganda
The massacre carried out by Hamas will likely go down as one of the worst attacks on civilians in history.
It’s easy to see why anyone would want to dehumanize and demonize a group as loathsome as Hamas. Any organization that seemingly cares so little about human beings does indeed seem demonic.
This is a collection of phrases used on Jesse Watters to describe Hamas in the past week.
“Radical Muslims murdered innocent men in front of their families . .Israel launched a counter offensive against these barbarians . . . A civilized nation forced to deal with savages who don't follow the code of military conduct . . . Subhuman jihadists ripping families apart, snatching hostages, kidnaping children. . . We are not witnessing a civilized battle. . .These are animals committing atrocities against civilians, humanity and pure evil,” said Watters.
I completely understand why some people are frustrated that members of the press are not attacking Hamas with this same kind of fervor. There are very good reasons why journalists avoid using terms like this.
Hamas will not suffer when anyone on Fox News calls them monsters or subhuman. Those vicious extremsist will face the full wrath of the Israel Defense Forces. I have no doubt that anyone who was featured in a video harming an Israeli civilian during the massacre will be hunted down and killed or imprisoned for life.
In this case, the unintended targets of hateful words are often innocent Americans. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11 violent hate crimes directed towards Muslims and Arabs dramatically spiked. In some cases people who were mistaken for Muslims were murdered in bigoted hate- fueled attacks.
How Propaganda Fueled The Murder of a Six-Year-Old Muslim Boy
On Saturday in Plainfield Township, Illinois, a 32-year-old Palestinian immigrant from the West Bank, Hanaan Shahin, was attacked by Joseph M. Czuba, her 71-year-old landlord who confronted her “about what was going on in the Middle East,” according to a court filing.
Czuba’s wife told investigators that after the Hamas massacre two weeks ago he told Shahin that she had to move out of the first floor of his home because he “believed that they were in danger and that (Shahin) was going to call over her Palestinian friends or family to harm them,” according to the filing.
“Shahin stated she responded to him by saying, ‘let’s pray for peace,’ and was immediately attacked by Czuba who repeatedly stabbed her as he shouted “you Muslims must die.” She managed to make it into her bathroom where she called 911 but was unable to grab her son.
While Shahin hid in the bathroom with more than a dozen stab wounds, Czuba stabbed her six-year-old Wadea Al Fayoume, 26 times. He did not survive his injuries.
Joseph M. Czuba, 71, of Plainfield was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of hate crimes and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to the sheriff’s office.
According to prosecutors Czuba was an avid listener of conservative talk radio and became overly paranoid and concerned about the young Palestinian mother and her son living in the first floor of his home. The language used on most conservative talk radio shows is so harsh and vitriolic it makes Fox News look like MSNBC.
Both Jews and Muslims have been targets of hatred based on their religion. Some unhinged consumers of hateful propaganda may not differentiate between an innocent Muslim boy and Hamas.
Czuba could have just as easily been motivated by antisemitism and attacked a Jewish family for living in his home as Jews are often demonized in extreme right-wing media.
An Israeli Guest Didn’t Play By the Rules
On Monday on “Fox & Friends,” Brian Kilmeade invited on Robby Berman, an Israeli tour guide who witnessed the rocket attack in Tel Aviv.
At the end of the segment Berman spoke of his friend’s who had lost a son in the massacre.
“So we're still waiting for the funeral. We're waiting for the funeral. It is helter skelter. There's chaos. The government is is not functioning the way it should. And we're hoping now that the country is going to rally around the government and rally around the army. We're going to do what we have to do. And later on, there will be accountability for for for a mistake, for a screw up that is unforgivable by everyone,” said Berman.
Kilmeade interrupted.
“I hear you. But you do have a guy the most experienced in Israeli history at the helm who knows, is not afraid,” said Kilmeade.
Berman’s facial expression turned to one of concern as he shook his head.
“But the buck stopped. But the buck stops with him. And he is responsible. And there will be an inquiry. There will be a commission and someone will be held accountable for the one of the worst tragedy since the Yom Kippur War. I think in the whole Lebanese war, only 670 soldiers were killed over a one year period. Here we had 700, 800 people killed in one day. And it's not even over yet,” said Berman.
“I hear you. Absolutely. But he's the right guy in charge in terms of putting the hammer down. Meanwhile, thank you. I appreciate it. Stay safe,” said Kilmeade as the camera just cut off of Berman.
Since Fox News hasn’t reported much from the region Kilmeade might not have realized that Israelis have been staging protests against Netanyahu’s administration for several months.
Netanyahu and his far-right wing coalition passed a law that limited the power of the judiciary. Many critics of the legislation said it would threatened democracy in the country. Protests against the law started before it was even passed.
Once his government pushed the law through protesters took to the streets by the hundreds of thousands. Military reservists, including Air Force pilots, threatened to refuse to report for service.
Critics also claimed that Netanyahu was attempting to limit the power of the courts to save himself from corruption charges. He is facing charges involved with with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate scandals.
His trial has stretched on since 2020 and has featured over 40 prosecution witnesses including some of the Prime Minister’s former close associates who have testified against him.
Israel has been grappling with political unrest as voters have gone to the polls five times in less than four years - each time as a means as a challenge to Netanyahu’s power.
PBS Included a Few Israelis Who Had Heated Words about Netanyahu
On Wednesday, Lelia Molana-Allen, a special correspondent for the PBS NewsHour reporting from Israel included a brief segment with two Israelis who refused to evacuate the southern town of Sderot that had already been hit by shelling.
“There has been an evacuation order, which suggests to some people that a ground invasion is planned. But as some residents start to clear out of town, others are refusing to budge.”
Her first brief interview was with Vladimir Klaiderman, an Israeli man in his what looked like his early 60s. A translator’s voice was used in the broadcast.
“No, they can't tell me to go away,” said Klaiderman.
The camera then cut to a petite elderly woman standing in her doorway while leaning on a medical walker.
“Gina Alphonse says she trusted her government to protect them, and it didn't. So why would she listen now?” said Molana-Allen
A translator’s voice spoke for her.
“Yahya Sinwar is Satan but Netanyahu is even worse. And we're paying the price here. Terrorists in Sderot slaughtered soldiers. Where is my Prime Minister? Where is my country? I'm not going anywhere,” said Alphonse.
Just moments after we left out, another gun battle broke out between security forces and Hamas militants,” said Molana-Allen.
Jesse Watters Got Schooled by a Former Navy SEAL
On Friday on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Jonathan Gilliam, a former Navy SEAL, spoke about the challenges the Israel Defense Fighters might face in ground invasion in Gaza.
Watters asked him a question an 8th grader might ask a former Navy SEAL.
“And trying to slit someone's throat who's hiding behind a corner. Jonathan, tell me what it's going to be like for these guys to go into this area and extract revenge.”
Gilliam responded.
‘Well, first of all, they revenge should be the last thing on their mind. The tactics of taking out Hamas should be the main focus on on and also rescuing these hostages.’
An American Rabbi in Israel Gives Amazing insight on Hamas and Thanks Joe Biden.
On Wednesday on “Fox & Friends,” Rabbi Eitiel Goldwicht spoke to Steve Doocy about the crisis in Israel. Doocy seemed genuinely surprised by the rabbi’s words.
“And what they've told me is that only people who've been educated for hatred from such a young age could do something so horrific. It's not something that happens. It is something that is a full system that is training from their kids. Until then, when they become militants, they hate and they and they become so bloodthirsty and therefore the whole system needs to be brought down.
It's a full terror system. That's the only way I can explain the horrors that they're seeing and they're trying to give the final respect. And we have to bring this system down. A battle of good versus evil,” said Goldwicht.
As Goldwicht made his statement his facial expression conveyed a sense of kindness and warmth. He seemed to have a surprising sense of compassion for the children raised in the system he had just described.
Steve Doocy responded.
“And your earlier message, we are not broken. That's what you're telling your kids and that's what you're telling the world. Rabbi, thank you very much for joining us today. God bless you and do so.”
“And and I would say that the words of President Biden were very heartfelt here in Israel. And we appreciate that so much,” said Goldwicht as he was nearly cut off.
“Well, thank you very much for sharing that. All right. God bless,” said Doocy.
Stories Fox News Ignored
Every week I compare the hours I covered on Fox News to five hours of the PBS NewsHour. The follow is a list of the top stories PBS covered that Fox News did not.
Developments in the war in Ukraine
Russia lost its bid to regain a seat on the top Human Rights Council in the United Nations. Last year the assembly voted to suspend Russia from its position on the council after its invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Brussels, Belgium. The meeting focused on priorities for Ukraine and how the country could survive the next winter.
Climate disasters
The death toll from flash floods in India climbed to 74 with at least 100 still missing. The floods followed excessive rain which caused a glacial lake to burst its banks in the Indian Himalayans.
PBS produced another segment about the aftermath of the wildfires in Maui. The story was focused on preserving the history and heritage on the island.
Hurricane Lidia made landfall in Mexico as a category 4 hurricane near the resort of Puerta Vallarta. Winds reached 140 miles per hour before slowing as it moved inland. One person was killed from a falling tree and two more were injured.
Simone Biles became the most decorated gymnast in the history of the sport after she won her sixth all-around world championship gold the Gymnastics World Championships.
Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton, 55, is currently in intensive care with a rare form of severe pneumonia. Her family set up a crowdfunding page to help pay for medical bills as Retton does not have health insurance.
Afghanistan was hit by another 6.3 magnitude earthquake after being devastated by multiple quakes weeks earlier. Entire villages were destroyed and the aid group Save the Children reported four deaths and 153 injuries.
Federal prosecutors on Long Island filed more criminal charges against Rep. George Santos (R-NY) for stealing donor’s identities, making charges on credit cards without authorization and lying to federal election officials.
NASA revealed samples taken from a 4.5 billion-year-old asteroid showed evidence of high-carbon content and water. Together they could indicate the building blocks to life on earth. The intake and output of carbon is a component of all plant and animal life on earth.
NASA also announced a new six-year mission to reach and collect samples from a rare metal-covered asteroid.
Hughes Van Ellis a survivor of the racially motivated Tulsa Massacre died at the age of 102. The Tulsa Massacre occurred in 1921 when a mob of white people stormed a thriving district known as Black Wall Street and burned most of it to the ground. As many as 300 people died and 1,200 homes were destroyed in the attack.
Scores for the college admissions test ACT were the lowest in the past 30 years. Scores have been falling for the past six years but the trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Supreme Court is taking up a new case over redistricting in South Carolina. The justices will decide if a newly created district was made to disenfranchise Black voters. Republican Rep. Nancy Mace currently represents the new district.
The White House denounced former President Donald J. Trump for criticizing Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a recent speech Trump called Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group ‘very smart.’
Social Security beneficiaries will receive a 3.2% increase in payments to keep up with inflation.
According to U.S. officials North Korea has supplied Russia with weapons for use in the war in Ukraine.
PBS included a segment about the debate surrounding drug decriminalization in Oregon. Three years ago 58% of residents voted to decriminalize drugs. After an increase in crime and overdose deaths almost the same amount of voters want to repeal the law.
As part of her “America at a Crossroads” series Judy Woodruff produced a segment about what free speech means on college campuses.
One police officer was acquitted while another was convicted in the chokehold related death of Elijah McClain a 23-year-old Black man. Three police officers and two paramedics have been charged with his death and are being tried in three separate trials. McClain had committed no crime at the time he was detained and had no prior criminal convictions. He was wearing a face mask at the time of his arrest for medical reasons. A bystander called 911 saying he looked “sketchy.”
Thank you