Many people wonder why President Trump's support is still so high in the U.S., below I'll expand on some of the reasons. This is why citing arguments and claims are so important, not only are we fighting Russian disinformation, we must also reach across the aisle to those who have been ensnared by the right wing media sphere that has left millions of American oblivious to the crimes this administration has committed.
Why is President Trump's administration approval rating so high among Republicans?
The right wing media sphere in America is refusing to cover these revelations with in depth analysis, instead they misrepresent events, obfuscate known information, and peddle debunked conspiracy theories endangering U.S. institutions.[1] On the day of President Trump's personal attorney's office raids, Sean Hannity went on Fox and disparaged Special Counsel Mueller claiming that investigators had "declared war on the President of the United States."[2] Then we found out that Sean Hannity was a client of Michael Cohen, he never disclosed this fact until it was discovered at a recent court hearing.[3] Furthermore, a report has come out alleging that Sean Hannity speaks to President Trump nearly every weeknight.[4] Moreover, when news broke that Trump's former Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort was indicted by Special Counsel Mueller, Fox News ignored the breaking news throughout the day and instead focused on a hamburger emoji.[5]
So it doesn't come as a surprise when Sean Hannity and Fox News push incredibly deceitful portrayals of events over the course of Special Counsel Mueller's investigation, omitting facts so that they create an alternate reality that doesn't actually exist. For example when news broke that President Trump attempted to fire Special Counsel Mueller, Fox News host Sean Hannity deflected and changed his story several times within an hour on his show; first by claiming the report was fake news, then defended Trump by claiming that he didn't do anything wrong omitting the fact that in doing so would be obstructing an ongoing investigation, and finally Hannity cut to a video of a car crash instead of discussing pertinent breaking news.[6]
Surely Fox News can't be the only cause of this distorted reality, can it? You're not wrong to ask this question, so I'll provide another example - Sinclair Broadcast Group.
The FCC, under the direction of Ajit Pai, are relaxing regulations in an attempt to allow a pro-Trump news organization to buy out local news stations across the country. Sinclair forces local stations to run pro-Trump news segments. A government organization that is meant to be impartial is tailoring policy to push right-wing propaganda.[7]
Another cause for concern, and increased scrutiny, is what’s seen as the company’s pronounced political agenda. Sinclair forces its local stations to run pro-Trump “news” segments. In April, they hired Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump campaign spokesman and member of the White House press office, as its chief political analyst. His “must-run” 10-minute political commentary segments unsurprisingly hewed closely to the Trump administration’s message. The news and analysis website Slate, referring to Epshteyn’s contributions, said: “As far as propaganda goes, this is pure, industrial-strength stuff.”
Jared Kushner has admitted that the Trump Campaign struck a deal with Sinclair for pro-Trump coverage during the 2016 election.[8] Sinclair requires stations to air segments that tilt to the right.[9] Just a reminder that 72% of Americans follow local news closely.[10] Keeping this in mind, Sinclair forced all its stations to recite the same script across the country that sounded like something out of a dystopian novel.[11] Sinclair forces stations to air segments created and presented by Boris Epshteyn, a former Trump White House official, 9 times a week.[12]
Sinclair Broadcasting has told employees not to talk to journalists about the prepared scripts.[13] And if you're wondering why more people aren't quitting, Sinclair makes their contracts too expensive to quit.[14]
1) Politico - Fox News hosts ramp up ‘deep state’ conspiracies
2) Politico - Hannity’s ethics under fire; Fox News host’s failure to disclose his relationship with Trump attorney Michael Cohen puts his credibility on the line.
3) New York Times - Sean Hannity Is Named as Client of Michael Cohen, Trump’s Lawyer Video
4) USA Today - Report: President Trump and Sean Hannity talk nearly every weeknight
5) The Independent - Fox News reported on the hamburger emoji as Paul Manafort's bombshell indictment broke
6) Video of Sean Hannity cutting to a car crash when news broke that Trump attempted to fire Mueller
7) The Guardian - This is Sinclair, 'the most dangerous US company you've never heard of'
8) Politico - Kushner: We struck deal with Sinclair for straighter coverage
9) New York Times - Sinclair Requires TV Stations to Air Segments That Tilt to the Right
10) Pew Research Center - 72% of Americans follow local news closely
11) New York Times - Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script
12) Politico - Sinclair increases 'must-run' Boris Epshteyn segments
13) The Hill - Sinclair station in Oregon tells employees to not talk to press about script: report
14) Bloomberg - Sinclair Employees Say Their Contracts Make It Too Expensive to Quit
comments by Poppin as a Global public service. 6/12/2018
= new reply since forum marked as read
