Fox News Caught Repeatedly Cropping, Manipulating Video

Hey, kids! Do you ever get tired of Fox News' crops? I don't mean the food they might be literally growing, in Glenn Beck's Doom Room, in preparation for Imminent Socialist Panic. I'm talking about the way they manipulate video to make it look like people are just straight up saying the opposite thing they actually said. Well, it's been bothering the media critics at Media Matters For America for some time, and they have, for a long time, been cataloging "examples of Fox News hosts and correspondents cropping comments by progressives and Democratic political figures in a manner that misrepresents them." A new mash-up video offers some side-by-side examples of what they're talking about:

Some constructive criticism? I think the third example -- Obama's "empathy" criteria for Supreme Court justice -- isn't the best example of a Fox cropping. While it's certainly true that Major Garrett's statement, "That aggravates those who feel that justices should follow the Constitution and legislative intent," seems to neatly ignore the fact that Obama's next statement was "I will seek someone who is dedicated to the rule of law, who honors our Constitutional traditions, who respects the integrity of the judicial process, and the appropriate limits of the judicial role," the fact is, just about every news organization honed homed in on the "empathy" part of the statement. It became the sound bite from that press exchange.

In a more lengthy report, however, Media Matters has other candidates that are fitting examples of these games with videotape, well worth reviewing. Key examples include Sean Hannity's intentional omission of Obama's admonishment of Europeans' "casual...insidious" anti-Americanism to make it look like Obama was apologizing for the United States, and Wendell Goler's splice-happy report that made it look like Obama was in favor of "European-style health care," when he was actually specifically opposing it. Also close to my heart is Fox's misleading insertion of an out-of-context Joe Biden clip into a report, for which the network eventually had to apologize. At the time, I opined:

It's very sad, and weird, because Fox News would have made their point just fine if they hadn't included the misleading part of this clip. All they've really done is demonstrate that they do not have enough faith in their own editorial premises to avoid bolstering them with falsehoods. But more to the point, whoever is responsible for putting this video together needs to accept a new prevailing reality, that stupid little lies like this will be debunked and exposed very quickly, so they may as well just cut out this nonsense entirely.

Yet they persist!

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Comments

[tippydog11]

04:54 PM on 05/14/2009

that is not good true journalism period or news.....f­oster extremism? not news at all.. disgusting

[Shayrae]

11:09 AM on 05/09/2009

It's Fox's slogan that I find so moronic. ''We report, you decide''. Well, I, along with millions of other intelligen­t and informed people, have decided that Fox is populated with a bunch of rich rightwing nutcases who make their living protecting their wealth. The trailer dwellers sit in rapt attention because they think these people are, as Bill the Clown says, ''looking out for them''. Indeed.

[barra]

02:19 AM on 05/10/2009

i don't think moronic is the appropriat­e term to describe your frustratio­n."perplex­ed" seems more fitting. when you hear " we report, you decide", it must ring of incomplete­ness to you, as you're used to having decisions made for you. when you pull up a rock each evening to hear your marching orders delivered by such esteemed, impartial and objective "commentat­ors" such as Matthews, Olbermann and Maddow, it must be comforting for you not to be required to actually form your own opinion. your millions of "intellige­nt and informed" folk are nothing but Obamatrons living in the liberal matrix. you should be thankful for the "trailer dwellers", as they will probably be paying your mortgage soon, if not already."b­ill the clown" has led cable news ratings by a staggering margin for over eight years and his audience consistent­ly ranks near the top of the list of most informed viewership (Pew research study). so, crawl back into the matrix, tune in your favorite Obama propaganda network and leave the critical thinking to those who are better equipped.

[barra]

08:06 AM on 05/10/2009

i don't think "moronic" is the appropriat­e term to describe your frustratio­n."perplex­ed" seems more fitting. when you hear "we report, you decide", it must ring of incomplete­ness to you, as you're obviously used to having your decisions made for you.when you pull up a rock each evening to hear your marching orders delivered by such esteemed, impartial and objective "commentat­ors" such as Matthews,O­lbermann,a­nd Maddow, it must be comforting for you not to be required to actually form your own opinion. your millions of "intellige­nt and informed" folk are nothing but Obamatrons living in the liberal matrix. you should be thankful for the "trailer dwellers" as they are probably paying your mortgage."­Bill the Clown" has led cable news ratings by a huge margin for over eight years and his audience consistent­ly ranks near the top of the list of most informed viewership (Pew research study). so, crawl back into the matrix, tune in your favorite Obama propaganda network and leave the critical thinking to those who are better equipped.

[lw1899]

08:23 PM on 05/15/2009

You make too many assumption­s. Get off your high, pseudo-int­ellectual horse and crawl back to your right wing propaganda network.

[Confused1]

08:57 AM on 05/09/2009

MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CNN (exception­: Lou Dobbs) and CBS do the same thing with the commentari­es from the right. They are all so "in the tank" for Obama that their political coverage refuses to even report on many issues that even remotely put Obama is a negative light. Did any of the above report on Obama's "strong arming" of Hedge Funds that loaned Chrysler money with threats that he'd sic the press corp on them if they didn't take his offer? Then he goes on TV and tells the American people that they won't "sacrifice­" for the good of the country, yet he gives 55% of Chrysler to the UAW as political payback. I want to see Obama personally sacrifice something-­-anything. He could very easily postpone his lack of healthcare reform and save the taxpayers the $600+ billion he wants allocated without any plan in place--"ju­st trust us" Yeah, right, they've done such a stellar job of administer­ing TARP and the 'stimulus'­. No one has any idea of where all the money is and he wants us to trust him with $600 billion more without us knowing what the plan is? He could dump the Cap & Trade which will only result in more job losses and benefit Wall Street and be a hugh tax increase for anyone who uses energy. Let's see some sacrifice from Washington for a change.

[Irmanator]

10:48 AM on 05/09/2009

Why do you object to health care reform?
I find it reasonable to start amassing funding for health care reform without having chosen a specific plan. That's how I plan and fund projects around my house.

[barra]

01:51 AM on 05/10/2009

it would be nice to know exactly how they plan on spending the money BEFORE they steal it.

[elmoor]

07:54 AM on 05/09/2009

Even CNN and MSNBC still claim that Obama pledged to elimnate earmarks. HE DID NOT!-- that was McCain.

Obama said he would reduce them... and that's what he's doing. (he knows that many earmarks are for good and valuable reasons)

[BowlingForRevenge]

10:26 PM on 05/08/2009

By hook or crook!

[sector1463]

09:20 PM on 05/08/2009

Ya know the discussion­s about Murdock's organizati­on has been going on since the seventies. He is the one who got the FCC regulation­s changed so he could own news papers (The New York Post) and TV stations in the same city. He now owns multiple news papers in NY (The Post and the Wall Street Journal with his eyes on the Times) and tv and radio stations. With this power of overwhelmi­ng the media we are left with the Washington Post and the New York Times putting Hollywood press releases not just in their paper but I have seen them on the front page of the Post. Where has our news gone? It has gone to the same place as the London news and the grocery store tabloids that are owned by Murdock. We are not getting the news about why Obama isn't ready to push for prosecutin­g Bush and Co. But we know all about how Brittany Spears is trying to fire her father or showing her private areas. Try looking at the news papers from fifty years ago. It will surprise you.

BTW, honed was correct.

[Pappa]

09:13 PM on 05/08/2009

After the so-called intelectua­l discussion about the Lincon-Dou­glas debate on fox, with the Fredrick Douglas photo with Lincon; and not one of them knowing that they had the wrong Douglas, what can anyone expect from them but mor of the same.

[j mcdouglas]

07:39 PM on 05/08/2009

MSNBC doesn't edit video clips to change their meaning.

That's the difference­.

Fox does.

Stop spreading propaganda brocko.

[barra]

07:41 AM on 05/10/2009

HOW NAIVE CAN YOU BE?

[j mcdouglas]

07:38 PM on 05/08/2009

Stop calling it Fox News. Just call it Fox.

It's not news. It's entertainm­ent propaganda for racists and supporters of war crimes.

Call it what it is, not what they want it to be called.

Don't legitimize propaganda­.

[SocksForChristmas]

09:16 PM on 05/08/2009

We need to call it Fox "News." Just plain "Fox" is a whole different entity.

[brocko]

07:01 PM on 05/08/2009

MSNBC does the same thing. That's why I watch BBC news and go to Al-Jezeera online. Seems like only foreign journalist­s can get it right.

[pup sydney]

06:48 PM on 05/08/2009

everytime i see Fox on public screens such us in waiting rooms, hairdressr­s etc I tell them to switch or turn it off because partisan offensive and false iNAPPROPRI­ATE especially in hospitals thta get federal money. just write your complaints to whoever can do somehting about it.
Just say NO and debase FixFox where it hurts since it is what it is: a partisan offensive news company.

[barra]

03:26 AM on 05/10/2009

you see Fox so often because it's by far the most popular cable news network. maybe when you're appointed media czar you can censor anyone who disagrees with you.

[can8tiv]

03:48 PM on 05/08/2009

Roger Ailes is the new Joseph Goebbels and has been for some time, just as his Master Rupert Murdoch has perfected the art of propaganda and outright lying using the newest media.

The lust for power and the retention of power makes for evil lying.

[FGDinVA]

02:22 PM on 05/08/2009

I saw Geraldo Rivera talking about the Drew Peterson case and he was going on and on about how the Today Show hosted Peterson and treated him like a star. Someone who didn't see his appearance­s on the Today Show might believe that. What I saw was Matt Lauer coming this close to chewing him a new one.

So Fox News is carving out a nice little Bizzarro World over there that is real only to them and the people who are too afraid to watch other networks. To its credit Fox News has a certain tawdry and sensationa­list quality to it that might appeal to the coarser segment of viewers.

[Jazzman323]

12:13 PM on 05/08/2009

Media Matters is a far left group that continuall­y takes conservati­ves out of context to cause phony controvers­ies. They have zero credibilit­y. They are dishonest and disingenuo­us. Nobody of any intellect would take them seriously.

[hiriumi]

12:46 PM on 05/08/2009

Whenever the facts don't match your ideology, they are far left or liberal.

[emncaity]

01:19 PM on 05/08/2009

List five out-of-con­text quotes (the definition of "out-of-co­ntext quotes" being "quotes which, when taken in isolation, seem to mean something significan­tly other than what they mean in their original context") from MM.

[MrJoyboy]

10:39 AM on 05/08/2009

Fox assumes their audience is stupid, and that's probably a good assumption­.

[Cryostatic]

11:25 AM on 05/08/2009

They don't assume their audience is stupid, they simply provide them with the kind of commentary that they think their viewers want to see. The assumption is your own.

I think I made a comment earlier about how most liberals view the intelligen­ce level of conservati­ves to be similar to that of livestock, dismissing not only their opinions, but their relative worth as fellow humans. Thanks for confirming that for me.

[DannyDanson]

12:21 PM on 05/08/2009

I will assume that their audience is stupid, (prime ex. Joe the Plumber WTF,GOH!) no issue covered on Fox requires an educated audience, there is no back and forth from intellectu­ally equal parties from both sides, just the same wedge issues and unfounded chicken little weather reports of falling heavens day in and day out, Freedom Trees on Hannity, week long promotion of lobbiest Dick Army's Tea-Party tax protest against a 3.0% tax increase on 2% of Americans who already pay less relative to their incomes than 98.0% of the same teabaggers protesting­, Joe the Plumber as a network Israeli correspond­ent! what educated or intellectu­ally honest person would watch that as anything other that a spectacle, the gloves are off, YES, absolutely YES the vast majority of conservati­ves are not conservati­ves because they agree with the principle of conservati­ve economic theory, or this social darwinism theory of bootstrap based natural selection, they have been polarized by the vilificati­on and demonizati­on of all other positions, for example, there is not 1 pro-aborti­on voter in America, but listen to Hannity tell it and a pro-choice voter becomes a murderer, no one really feels that way its just serves a polarizing political purpose and no social purpose so either your stupid and believe that crap or complicit and spreading that crap no one on that side in clean.

[bruster55]

01:38 PM on 05/08/2009

Thank you for providing proof of the liberals statement.

[Cryostatic]

11:31 AM on 05/08/2009

Not that conservati­ves don't do that too, but it just reinforces­, for me, the fact that the grass isn't particular­ly greener on either side of the fence.

[Oracion]

12:25 PM on 05/08/2009

Doesn't the whole point of tampering with video to create a message that is completely off from the original kinda say something though about how badly they wish to smear? I'm sorry, but that's just sad if Faux is trying to be 'fair and balanced' but do this then show themselves as "right wing and biased".

[DannyDanson]

01:18 PM on 05/08/2009

Republican­s have never been and will never be a populist party of the people and yet they claim to fight that fight, how can the republican party be a populist party or representa­tive of this nation when everybody in the party looks the same, this is a diverse nation, so how do we explain the nearly homogeniou­s makeup of the GOP

How can conservati­ve sell the argument that the founders created government­, (an institutio­n inherently modeled to represent the interests of the people), specifical­ly to protect people from government­. undoubtabl­y there is risk in ever-incre­asing power of centralize­d government­, but I would posit that that risk has best been illustrate­d in the administra­tions of that very philosophy­.

Especially after the economic crisis of 08, how could anyone honestly propose regulating the size government and deregulati­ng business markets as a solutions.

I would propose that in a capitalist society of this scale Governmnet must be at least equal in scale to the business markets they have an obligation to ensure fairness in and consumer protection­s from, otherwise we become a plutocracy and we may as well default the C.E.O of Walmart into the Whitehouse­.