MSNBC viewers are told that Biden is the greatest president since FDR. Why don’t the American public agree?
By Jeff Cohen, Salon
One of the conceits of MSNBC-watching liberals is that while Fox News serves up a steady stream of propaganda, they are getting the straight news from MSNBC.
One of the hallmarks of propaganda is selective outrage. Fox News generally defends the superwealthy (the “job creators”) and their tax cuts, but is outraged by one particular billionaire: Democratic donor George Soros. At MSNBC, there is outrage over rich right-wing donors and Russian oligarchs, but not so much over powerful U.S. oligarchs, especially if they lean Democratic.
Another hallmark of propaganda is selective facts. Fox News cherry-picks video clips and factoids to portray President Biden as a weakling who is captive of his party’s left wing or the Chinese Communist Party, or both. He’s not. On MSNBC, he’s portrayed as a transformative agent of change, and sometimes as the second coming of FDR. He’s not that either.
To credulous news consumers who reside snugly in the bubble of corporate liberal media (from the New York Times and the Washington Post to MSNBC and CNN to public broadcasting), the Biden administration has racked up powerful, even historic, legislative achievements. Which makes it hard for many liberal news consumers to fathom why the general public seems unaware of Biden’s great accomplishments, with his approval rating at 39 percent in the latest CNN poll.
Recent Posts
The Quiet Way Trump Has Made Life Easier For Polluters
Take Action Now It’s not just about environmental rollbacks: Trump and Lee Zeldin have presided over a striking decline in the EPA enforcing existing…
Coalition Demands Schumer, Jeffries Step Down Over Failure to Fight ‘War-Crazed’ Trump
Take Action Now “Schumer and Jeffries have shown that they cannot be trusted to prevent more wars, more threats of wars, or the transfer of another…
Coalition of Antiwar Groups Launches National Campaign Calling for Jeffries and Schumer to Step Aside from Leadership
Take Action Now “Schumer and Jeffries have failed their party and country through wobbly leadership when firmness and clarity are needed in opposing…
The Bases Basis for the Iran War
Take Action Now The economic impact of this war — through oil, tourism, and otherwise — is likely to continue to rub Gulf nations’ faces in the…