The Sinister Playbook: Deconstructing Fox News' Christo-fascist Agitprop
The illustrious H. L. Mencken once opined that "the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." A more apropos summary of the vast and terrifying tapestry that is Fox News could not have been spun by the master wordsmith himself.
The Christo-fascist agitprop Fox News effortlessly parades before its audience is ground zero for theocratic machinations seeking to supplant our beloved republic - a republic founded on the principles of liberty, equality, and, crucially, religious pluralism. A republic meant to withstand the corrosive allure of a single, unchallenged theocracy.
Look no further than the headline, "Trump declares the same people Biden vilifies as ‘garbage’ are ‘the heart and soul of America’" for a textbook example of the modus operandi Fox News employs. The messaging is no mistake: divisive, tribalistic, and designed to rile its base against a caricature of the enemy - here cast as Biden and, by proxy, the vast swathe of Americans who align with his views. By positioning Trump in the center of America’s moral compass, Fox News seeks not to inform but to indoctrinate.
Nowhere is Fox News' disingenuous manipulation more insidious than in their exploitation of my community - the LGBTQ community. In their envisioned Christo-fascist theocracy, we are to be neither seen nor heard, and certainly not validated in our existence. The loathsome rhetoric subtly and not-so-subtly insinuating that our mere existence is an affront to the 'way of life' they seek to cement would be laughable if not so odiously dangerous.
"Chinese citizen charged after allegedly voting illegally in key state — but vote will still count" seems carefully crafted to stoke fear and xenophobia, all while undermining faith in our electoral process. The rhetorical trickery here lies in falsely suggesting a widespread issue where none exists, and subsequently creating an imagined enemy for their viewers to rally against - a common technique in manipulating public sentiment towards a dystopian, totalitarian theocracy.
In the guise of news, Fox is conducting a symphony of half-truths, deceit, and fear-mongering, all under the banner of 'Fair and Balanced' reporting. These tactics serve not the populace, but the perpetuation of power, wealth and control by purveyors of Christian extremism. Their headlines serve as a clarion call to those who would usher in an era of religious totalitarianism devoid of empathy, compassion, and diversity.
The empathetic, compassionate, and pluralist America I cherish is worth preserving. We must remain vigilant and resist the subtle and overt attempts at religious-facist control lurking under the guise of news and punditry. A backlash against the Christian nationalism infiltrating our airwaves and informing our societal views begins with recognizing the virulence of its source.