The Big Lie & biggest liar

The Big Lie: “Repeated distortion of the truth on a grand scale, especially for propaganda purposes.”


A far better slogan for Fox News than “fair and balanced.”

The assumption is: if The Big Lie is repeated often enough, people will believe it. Here’s one:

“Liberal elite media.”

The first part of a Gallup survey released this week does not surprise me:

“For the fourth straight year, the majority of Americans say they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly - now 57 percent, a record high.”

That I attribute to “advocacy journalism” – too much opinion, not enough fact.

It’s the second part of Gallup’s findings that stuns me, although it is proof positive that The Big Lie works:

“Perceptions of media bias persist, with 48 percent saying the media are too liberal and 15 percent saying they are too conservative.”

Three living presidents now have criticized Fox News’ effect on our country: Carter, Clinton and Obama. Of course, who could forget Dick Cheney on MSNBC’s former morning show, telling Don Imus that he trusts Fox News to “get it RIGHT.” Perhaps the double entrndre was intended.

Should lies for profit be protected by the First Amendment?

In the words of that great defender of a free press, John Milton, truth and falsehood are grappling. In the not-too-distant future, we might know the outcome of the struggle.