Recent court cases in the U.S. have deemed it legal for both political campaigns and media outlets to not just mislead the public but to outright lie. However, such legality is not an international precedent and as a result the mayor of Paris plans on suing Fox News for making outrageous claims that there are parts of France and Europe where Islamic law is practiced and where police and non-Islamic citizens were ‘fearful’ to go into these areas. According to rival propaganda outlet CNN, “One Fox show, for example, displayed an inaccurate map of the alleged “no-go zones” in and around Paris. On another show, a guest who was identified as a security expert claimed that Birmingham, England is a “totally Muslim city where non-Muslims don’t go in.” Meanwhile, the city is 80% non-Muslim. These claims were so outrageous that even British Prime Minister David Cameron had to make an appearance on television to make it clear that these claims were false. In the words of Cameron, “When I heard this, frankly, I choked on my porridge and I thought it must be April Fools Day.” While Fox News did eventually apologize for the false claims the damage has been done, in two ways. First, Fox News viewers who might not have seen the apologies will likely think this is true, further fueling their xenophobic fire. And secondly, the already tarnished image the world has of us has just been more tarnished. Thank you Fox, for continuing to deceive and getting the ignorant to believe.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 22:53:56 +0000
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