MovieChat Forums > Tucker Carlson Tonight (2016) Discussion > Fox News may have made vaccine skepticis...

Fox News may have made vaccine skepticism mainstream among conservatives

posted 3 years ago by TMC-4 (19574)
9 replies | jump to latest

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/11/business/media/vaccines-fox-news-hosts.html

Although Rupert Murdoch got vaccinated last December, his conservative-leaning cable news outlet has led the effort to cast doubt on vaccinations, with primetime hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham leading the way. "Opposition to vaccines was once relegated to the fringes of American politics, and the rhetoric on Fox News has coincided with efforts by right-wing extremists to bash vaccination efforts," reports The New York Times' Tiffany Hsu. "Served up to an audience that is more likely than the general population to be wary of Covid vaccines, the remarks by Mr. Carlson and Ms. Ingraham echoed a now-common conservative talking point — that the government-led effort to raise vaccination rates amounted to a violation of civil liberties and a waste of taxpayer dollars. The comments by the Fox News hosts and their guests may have also helped cement vaccine skepticism in the conservative mainstream, even as the Biden administration’s campaign to inoculate the public is running into resistance in many parts of the country. Public health experts have said that a strong vaccination effort is critical for the United States to outrun the virus, which has killed more than four million people worldwide and continues to mutate. The amplification of vaccine skepticism through conservative media channels could harden the reluctance of those who might otherwise have been persuaded to get a shot, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a communications professor at the University of Pennsylvania." A Fox News spokesperson counters that Carlson and Ingraham have, in past months, expressed support for people getting vaccinated.

[–] Burk48917 (11117) 3 years ago

Do you fantasize that Tucker's name is his dick, because you seem to have it in your mouth a lot?

[–] TheTwoYutes (238) 3 years ago

Do you honestly think these high profile celebs have gotten vaccinated? Guarantee you everyone in high positions in entertainment and business have received a placebo.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

What you saw was just the planet Venus.

[–] TMC-4 (19574) 3 years ago

Fox News' COVID-19 vaccination coverage is still mess, despite Sean Hannity urging his viewers to “please take COVID seriously”

https://www.vox.com/22585354/hannity-fox-news-covid-19-coverage

Hannity was applauded for saying Monday night, "please take COVID seriously. I can't say it enough. Enough people have died. We don't need any more death. Research like crazy. Talk to your doctor... I believe in science. I believe in the science of vaccination." As Vox's Aaron Rupar points out, Hannity's show was sandwiched between Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham spreading vaccine disinformation. Rupar also notes that Hannity's statement on vaccines "came immediately before he pivoted to a story about a college athlete who was temporarily paralyzed after she took a different sort of vaccine in 2019 — the subtext being that inoculations are more dangerous than the experts would have you believe and that mandates are ill-advised. (Hannity has previously tried to discredit COVID-19 vaccines by saying stuff like, 'the great Dr. Fauci has been wrong so often' and proclaiming he was “beginning to have doubts” about getting the shot.)" Earlier on Monday, Fox & Friends' Steve Doocy also urged viewers to get vaccinated, saying: “If you have the chance, get the shot. It will save your life.” But," says Rupar, "Doocy was undermined by Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade, who claimed in response that it’s not the government’s job 'to protect anybody' and said of those who choose not to get vaccinated, 'if you feel as though this is not something for you, don’t do it, but don’t affect my life.' (A person’s choice to not get vaccinated does in fact affect other people by making it more possible for deadlier mutations of the virus to develop.)"

[–] maximmm (3159) 3 years ago

If you get information from learned doctors who convey their scepticism regarding the vaccine efficacy/safety - that's not disinformation. In fact, if you see a doctor saying that these vaccines are perfectly safe, without there being long term studies concluded, now that's an example of disinformation. Sadly, most people are currently misinformed at the behest of the white house.

[–] maximmm (3159) 3 years ago

I want to believe that tucker is all for truth.... but I wonder if he would have been playing a different tune if Trump was still in power and getting the military to forcefully inject vaccines into everyone. I don't think any of them (fox or cnn) stand for truth or freedom - they'll stand for it only if it opposes the other political party's views. As such, they are all great shills.

Currently, I'm happy that Tucker is speaking out against the experimental vaccines - he does have a powerful voice, but that's just because our views currently coincide. All of these tv show anchors are shills. CNN anchors were against the experimental vaccines while Trump was in power. Once Trump was gone, they all started singing the vaccine kumbaya song. Consistent? No. It's all about politics for these sold out fucks. Trust no one.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8456) 3 years ago

I get what you're saying, but to be fair to Tucker, he's never been one to toe the Republican Party line. He holds a lot of views that would not be regarded as orthodox conservatism and he has talked a lot of shit about institutional Republicans on his show.

[–] maximmm (3159) 3 years ago

I sincerely hope you are right. I've only started to follow Tucker recently, so it's hard for me to say if he was just as inconsistent as the rest of the shills on TV. On youtube, one media personality I like is Jimmy Dore - he calls out everybody, when they prove to be shills.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8456) 3 years ago

Stick with Tucker. He's good people.

I watch Jimmy sometimes too. I appreciate his willingness to go after other left-wingers. On the other hand, it's clear that if you don't think and believe exactly like he does then you're going on his shit list, and I think he could be a little more easy-going at times.