Study: Viewers of Fox News Less Informed of World Events Than Those Who Don't Watch Any News

[XAttaHabibX]

But don't forget MSNBC did almost just as poorly. But I don't see liberals waving that in your face. Look, I am NOT a republican but Democrats are just as bad.

[patrolmankato]

Farleigh Dickinson, last I checked is a university...need I say more. Next, I would be willing to sit and take any test with any college graduate from FD on world events and can assure you I would do better. I have 26 years in the military, now working as a GS employee, but also worked as a contractor in Kuwait and Iraq. In addition, I have visited or lived in more than 25 countries. Are there dumb people watching Fox YES, watching MSNBC yes...as a matter of fact, anyone watching TV=dumb.

[jtbpnw]

Meh... more liberal bullshit trying to explain why no one gives a damn about what the 'think'.. and I use the term 'think' loosely.

Bottom line is this. If you're a liberal, watch anything but Fox. If you're conservative, Fox is about the only conservative news out there today.

[FSMNoodlyAppendage]

@jtbpnw "Conservative news" and "liberal news" are oxymorons. Simply by acknowledging a political bias in FOX you have inadvertently admitted that it is not news at all, but a mouthpiece for an agenda. That's PROPAGANDA.

It should just be "NEWS". Period. A list of events that occur throughout the day. Nothing more.

[jtbpnw]

@FSMNoodlyAppendage Get current idiot. This post is a month old.

[TheLackofattack]

@FSMNoodlyAppendage Thank goodness, I agree. Is there any real news anymore? Conservative or Liberal propaganda, take your pick.

I watch Fox News and i'll be the first to say they don't really care about foreign news(particularly Europe and Africa). Neither does MSNBC or CNN for that matter. HOWEVER, Fox Business and CNBC are very different in that regard. They report about more global issues and just have a more intelligent aeire.

[savetheguineaworm]

All of your comments are great, but have any of you ever read the Propaganda article on Wikipedia? It lists about a million tactics of propaganda, a knowledge of which makes Fox highly entertaining (ok, not really, but at least you can feel smug in not falling for it). I seriously believe that if everyone read and really understood this article, Fox News would cease to exist.

[bigtexansfan]

Hahahaha! It's not like people with two brain cells to rub together haven't know this for years. FOX "news" isn't even "news" it's entertainment. Why else would one of their affiliates successfully sue for their right to lie all the way to the supreme court. FOX news channel is a big JOKE and their idiotic viewers are the PUNCHLINE!

[1bIgFaTsOnOfAbItCh]

For the record Fairleigh-Dickinson University is a PRIVATELY funded school, so they can't even put any spin on it and work the "public sector" state funding talking point. This is not news but simply more solidification. FOX have the dumbest viewer base in the world. These morons equate high ratings with factual reporting. So by their logic you can literally believe Spongebob Squarepants and WWE because they also get high ratings. These people are willfully ignorant morons.

[SquirrelFromGradLife]

What the survey don't show is that in order to watch Fox News in the first place you have to be slightly retarded or else you simply can't stomach the constant lying and retarded arguments..

[sheepOG]

Same goes for viewers of CNN, MSNBC, NBC, PBS, et cetera.

[1bIgFaTsOnOfAbItCh]

@sheepOG I'd like to see the factual data and analysis such as what's been provided about FOX viewers. For your information this isn't the first such study whose finding came to similar conclusions. The first was done by the University of Maryland. Again, I'd like to see the facts backing your claims.

[sheepOG]

@1bIgFaTsOnOfAbItCh If you honestly believe that those channels will make you smart and knowledgeable, be my guest. I don't need a study to see that they aren't much better, which is why it is best not to watch mainstream media news at all. But I doubt most people would find good online alternatives, let alone go back to reading books.

[1bIgFaTsOnOfAbItCh]

@sheepOG There are great alternatives. But just notice what other "news" channels do that FOX NEVER does. They always give their documented source of the FACTS that they're commentary or report is on. And they NEVER start a report with "Some would say" or "Some people say" which FAUX news does all the time. You hear that kind of crap on Extra or Entertainment tonight when reporting gossip, which even they're more factual that FAUX news.

[sheepOG]

@1bIgFaTsOnOfAbItCh That is indeed something FOX News likes to do, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that none of the other mainstream news channels do this. I know for a fact that they all do it, albeit to a lesser extent. What I dislike the most about any mainstream news channel is that they all pretend to be neutral, while they all have a pretty distinct political slant. That might not be so obvious to the average viewer though.

[sheepOG]

@sheepOG Which doesn't mean I'm against politically slanted news. I'm all for that. Just no pretending to be neutral.

[1bIgFaTsOnOfAbItCh]

@sheepOG You are most definitely correct. For instance, MSNBC is one of the many sources I watch for news. Now it's no secret they have a political slant to the left. BUT, they do stick to the FACTS! To be honest it's not FOX right-wing bias that's even the problem with most politically engaged viewers. It's the fact that they're LIARS! As you said some keep it subtle in their lean one way or the other but, stick to the facts. FOX is just simply playing with their poop.

[DickOPlenty]

actually egyptians overthrew their govt with western help. no one in the U.S. is reporting that, not even DN. wikileaks proves egyptian activists met with U.S. govt officials (including 2 senators) and think tanks back in 2008 with plans to overthrow the mubarak govt. before egyptian "elections" in the fall of 2011.

[Soulcrusher105]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA­HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA­HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA­HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA­HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA­HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA­HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA­HAHA !....(breath)....HAHAHAHAHAHAH­AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH­AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH­AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH­AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH­AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH­AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[ChristianMission]

Libs are apparently too stupid or ignorant to know when a poll is flawed. The limited sample size and geographical range of the poll make it meaningless for making valid conclusions about Americans in general. 612 residents of New Jersey do not represent the American public or news watchers. Proper polls conducted by Pew over the last 4 years show the knowledge of Fox news viewers to be at or above the American average, with O'Reilly, Hannity & Beck viewers being above the national average.

[MrCeleron44]

@ChristianMission put your head in the sand like the rest of you religious clowns. Fox news is nothing but propoganda bullshit like the rest of the corporate whore media. wake up tard. I got one word for ya EVOLUTION, religion was created to control the masses.

[deeppurple28]

@ChristianMission The poll is not flawed you fucking retard, stop trying to make excuses for your stupidity and NO you moron, this is not about Generalizing Americans you fuck faced idiot! The poll takes into consideration ONLY people who watch Fox "News" You tart! Thus it analyses the effects of watching fox news! Besides, who didn't know that Fox News was a propaganda station? Idiots like you! LOL!

[1bIgFaTsOnOfAbItCh]

@ChristianMission Ahhh, I see you've been over to Andrew Breitbart's site, and the Drudge Report. Because they're saying exactly what you're saying here. The more you defend FOX the more you prove the study correct. If you can send me a link I'd like to see this Pew poll. Because Beck, Hannity, and O'Reilly are direct reasons why FOX viewers are among the most ignorant news viewers in the world. 612 residents who only watch FOX and then those who don't watch news at all is more than sufficient.

[SteveTheGong]

An additional explanation could account for the survey results: It could easily be the case that Fox News appeals to people of low intelligence and therefore most people who watch Fox News may be too stupid to make good sense of anything they watch (even if they were somehow exposed to only very "accurate" and "unbiased" news they'd be unable grasp it and it may even be the case that stupid people become better informed by watching Fox News than through watching any other news).

[mhershenson]

@SteveTheGong . This is so much BS...I have a Doctorate from a major Big Ten university and I have been quite successful in both academic and private industry. For you to make such a sophomoric comment is beyond ridiculous. When one views the MSNBC and CNN, as well as traditional news networks, one can easily see the liberal transparency of these news organizations.

[lafemmefatalle]

Faux Noise. All that is wrong with the USA.

Hey Tea Party... do you know WHOM you rely on for news?

Fox has 2 principle owners. An admitted fascist from Australia. And a Saudi Arabian prince.

Yep... you rely on total anti-american twats for your "American" news.

[deeppurple28]

This is pure Comedy! LOL And who said comedy doesn't write itself? LOL!

[trobbjr75]

Very surprising, until you read the details which show how flawed it is.

1. a total of only 5 questions were asked. Only 5! So Fairleigh Dickinson University is going to make a blanket statement about how informed viewers are based on only a 5-question poll?

2. Of the 5 questions asked, questions K2-K4 were about foreign affairs, K5 was an opinion question, and K6 was irrelevant and also opinion-reliant.

Believers of this poll need to learn some critical thinking skills.

[uknowispeaksense]

fox news: the ultimate oxymoron

[urbanverificationist]

Calling Fox news is disinformation...

[jdweberg]

The question was worded, "have the opposition groups protesting in Egypt been successful in bringing down the regime there?" and was asked in October of 2011. Currently there are protests in Egypt against the military regime. The question is present tense and makes no reference to Mubarak. Therefore, the correct answer is, "no." The Egyptian protesters have not been successful. Evidently viewers of other networks along with these pollsters are unaware that there are protests in Egypt currently.

[vladdrac88]

I get a little giggle out of calling FOX News an intellectual whore house, but really, who are the backers of FOX: What are their names, where do they live, what are their address's . All the station does is promote hatred, war, racism etc. When the time comes, some should be held to account, particularly the "writers" who author the audio.

[lafemmefatalle]

@vladdrac88 .. see my answer to know who owns Faux Noise

[vladdrac88]

Karl Rove, "The Architect" or, "The Father of Lies" incarnate. Also known as "Bushes Brain". Maybe a seagull will drop an oyster shell on his head; one can always hope.

[SickNTiredOfTheBS]

Fox News - WW3 would be breaking out and they would still talk about some slob probing some prostitute.

[DrStrangelove666]

Political spinning and sleazy salesmanship work by making the illogical sound logical, unimportant or even bad by interfering with the reasoning process and emotional manipulation. Maybe over time the interference becomes ingrained so that they cannot reason in general or objectively consider alternate points of view. It is a sort of learned lobotomy.

[budusca]

I watch it to see what BS story they are pushing and what things they don't want you to know about, it's like the game that is called BS but played with Fox news.

[postwick]

Democracy Now is lying to you. Nowhere in the study are there ANY respondents who "watch no news." Also, if you look at the ACTUAL study, you will see that although it is true that a certain percentage of Fox News viewers answered "I don't know" to the questions, SIMILAR PERCENTAGES OF MSNBC VIEWERS, DAILY SHOW VIEWERS, NY TIMES READERS, ETC. also answered "I don't know." Democracy Now is garbage journalism, and their sole intent was to lie about the study so they could bash Fox News.

[TheCoffeerocks]

It's always nice to have someone else confirm what you've always suspected.

[jdweberg]

uh huh. According to the Pew Research Center 43% of news time on Fox that week was covering the ouster of Mubarak AND used the term "Muslim Brotherhood" five times as frequently as CNN and MSNBC combined. Anyone still following the Egypt news will understand why that's important. But this poll would have us believe that Fox News watchers just missed all this coverage and that these pollsters have no ulterior motive here?

[garrettwarren2]

@jdweberg to be fair, everyone's motives are ulterior.

[LuckyLeftyLuciano]

Fox News: dumbing people down, one hour at a time

[sm1353]

what university?

[ElshamyWalid]

@sm1353 Fairleigh Dickinson University

[tweener702]

this has been debunked by unbiased political sites

[QwoPhasaArius]

@tweener702 source please

[xadam2dudex]

maybe FOX fake news viewers are just stupid and it doesn't matter what channel they watch they'll still be stupid

[biorgymd]

I can only watch Fox with a crucifix, garlic and holy water in hand otherwise you won’t catch my ASS nowhere near a Fox News broadcast because I’m too scared I’ll get demon possessed from that Hong Kong Chinese Communist CUNT who spits out Lucifer’s spawn from her slanted Hong Kong CUNT for the Rupert Murdoch Empire. I can only imagine some Satanic Ritual where all in the Murdoch Empire including Prince Alweed Talibin are required to drink her Hong Kong CUNT juice in honor of Satan.

[1thruZ]

"there is something about watching Fox News that leads people to do worse on these questions than those who don't watch any news at all."

lol what a conclusion

[thisisntme]

"Knowledge is tyranny, ignorance is bliss."

[wntoply6]

i totally stand with Alden057 when he said "Fox News: We Deceive. You Believe"!

problem is, the deceived sincerely believe the lies they've been fed because they've never lived lives of truth, and wouldn't know fact if they were making it!

[fuckFOXpropaganda]

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” Joseph Goebbels

[biorgymd]

@fuckFOXpropaganda I think I have a crush on you. I just subcribed. xoxoxox

[xadam2dudex]

@fuckFOXpropaganda he is the hero of all the neo-cons that run the corporate government

[fuckFOXpropaganda]

@xadam2dudex i agree! i also get the feeling that the U.S is turning into this 21st century Nazi-regime, without gas-chambers. we're invading countrys,spying on, killing, arresting and torchering their people (..and our own ..)! stealing their natural resources, ect .... now i heard, that the iranians captured some U.S. Spys that could face execution! if that happens, .... i wonder what our response would be.. ?!? i'm assuming it would be militarily! it's just all so fucking depressing ... !

[XSilvenX]

@fuckFOXpropaganda Without gas chambers you say...? Look up the FEMA camps :)

[mukmakumkum]

To be fair, just because FOX viewers are less informed, this does not mean that FOX is the cause. However, it definitely does show that those who watch FOX news fall into a certain less informed category. FOX news may yet make them more informed, but because they're the type who would decided to turn on FOX in the first place for their news, they may be less informed due to other traits that category of people shares.

[theoldgeek1]

@mukmakumkum To be Fair and Balanced let's say Fox News marketing is aimed at the dumbasses with a mental age of 9 because they are more gullible for Right Wingers propaganda. Ordinary TV News is for a mental age of 12 and anyone with a mental age above just stop watching the idiot tube and start looking for informations that interrest him instead of just sitting and digesting the junk that is sent to TV viewers. So no wonders those results. Would have love to see the other media results.

[biorgymd]

@theoldgeek1 Well actually Fair and Balanced is a term that came to life at the Satanic Murdoch Empire Rituals, at the ritual those in the Empire drink the Cunt Juice from the Cunt of that Hong Kong Communist Chinese Whore and then swallow the Cum from the cock of the Great Saudi Prince, after gobbling down the Satanic fluids, participants burp, fart and rub their bellies and say “Oh Great Satan that was Fair and Balanced”. Spectators of the ritual then being to sing and chant hail Satan.

[peacewavenow]

I wonder how many takes were needed get through this segment without Amy bursting out in laughter?

[TeachMetheUnknown]

FOX SUCKS FOX NEWS IS SHIT NEWS!

[lsdesign]

fox is not news it is faux news.

[perrolaser]

go figure

[unreal672003]

Fox news has no credibility. They are our Corporate Fascist media.

The government pays them to screw over anybody that fights centralizing government. Fox is filled with nothing but WHORES. Same? goes for NBC, ABC, and CBS. They're all fascists on the take and spreading propaganda for a criminal regime.

[SSanf]

Maybe, the FOX viewers simply are not all that bright to start with. Did they give them an IQ test?

[Redpilldown]

@SSanf I do not think you can truly blame the viewers of fox, indoctrination can happen to the best of us. Its not always about lack of IQ but being born into a certain culture/mindset. Most fox viewers watch because they have been told this is what our class watch and nothing else. As for foxnews, I hope it goes bankrupt tomorrow....if not worse!

[uresist]

There are numerous studies showing similar results. Even the Rand Corporation has confirmed this, yet we still allow them to call it news. It should just be called The Rupert Murdoch Show.

[Redpilldown]

@uresist I wish they would call it that....Mr Murdoch is being ripped a new asshole in England, he is scum!

[Robban206]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA­HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA­HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA­HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA­HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA­, IM SERIOUSLY IM LAUGHING MY ASS OFF

[peacefulpatriots]

And CNN, HNN, MSNBC, CNBC, are somehow better? They are all run by Zionists. Turn off your TV, and tune into reality

[8legged]

i only watch fox for the series

[sarttan]

See the dislike bar? Me neither. We all agree that its the truth.

Fox doesn't, but who cares.

[nekedemus]

I would like to know.

How much Fox News do you have to watch before you are totally cleaned out.

[peacewavenow]

But then, what would one expect from the viewers of a "news" channel that pretends Sarah Palin isn't an idiot?

[Redpilldown]

This is not surprising, most fox viewers only watch fox because it conforms with their illogical/biased world view.

[bmillsistheman]

@Redpilldown just like liberals who watch msnbc to get their biased view reinforced

[Redpilldown]

@bmillsistheman I am no fan of msnbc but there is a difference between an outright lie and a little BS. I would give fox a 10/10 for BS, lying and fraud apart from the judge and even he has an agenda.

[Aiden057]

Fox News: The More You Watch, The Less You Know

Fox News: We Decieve. You Believe

[workerbee71]

Conclusion: Watching FOX makes you dumb.

[DMChoreographer]

no duh. the pundits are not so smart r they?

[jessrey]

I would like to see aspects of this study reported in regards to other mainstream news outlets. It's easy to pick on Fox News and this might seem obvious to more media literate people, but I don't imagine viewers of other cable news networks would fare so well in this study either way.

[riverbag]

@jessrey Agreed, I think viewers of most mainstream media would be shown as less informed because they are normally passive viewers and not seriously interested in the news. Those who seek out news from multiple sources are usually more informed than these others.

[americanmuslimgirl]

@jessrey MSNBC didn't fare too well, although it did better than Fox. The best performers were those who watch Sunday morning news shows. NPR listeners did well also, as did viewers of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Reading a national newspaper also increased scores.

[americanmuslimgirl]

@jessrey The results are more detailed than I have given you, and there were differences between knowledge of national stories compared with international stories. If you google "Fairleigh Dickinson poll" one of the results on the first page has the full study results. It's the scribd link, a few links up from the bottom.

[ryguy86]

kind of a catty segment there, Amy. just stick to the facts, we all know Fox News is for the dummies.

[mispistoleros]

@ryguy86, democracy now has steadfastly refused to give airtime or coverage to 911 truth. DN doesn't have to endorse it but ignoring it appears suspicious, left-wing gate-keeping.

[Kevin4444D]

@mispistoleros Yeah because it wants to keep its credibility by focusing on real issues instead of pandering to conspiracy theorists

[qualityrkc]

@mispistoleros DN shouldn't get involved in conspiracy theories. I believe DN has done stories about how our policy in the middle east is what caused 9/11. What else do you want?

[universalheartstring]

@qualityrkc And that would be untrue because . . . .?

[qualityrkc]

@universalheartstring what would be untrue?

[ryguy86]

@mispistoleros I don't really feel thats the case. I think Amy works her ass off to bring some light to a situation otherwise shrouded in disinfo. I appreciate her dedication, I just dont think there was any substance to this segment. It was just sort of a low blow at Fox. Which, if you listen to DemNow, you probably want nothing to do with Fox as it is. haha.

[5british5]

not surprised

[VoVaKissCam]

Great clip, added to my favorites.

[GiantSandles]

Oh God. I knew FOX was bad, but I didn't know it was this bad, lol.

[tangledweb79]

This confirms my suspicions. Fox News watchers all ride the short bus to school.

[DMChoreographer]

@tangledweb79 i do not think they go to school, they just kick back on those welfare checks, they watch fox for the babes and the fun of it. it's only slightly entertaining as some form of twisted entertainment.

[tangledweb79]

@DMChoreographer Ahh, the disinfo ho's. I guess you've got a point there! What was I thinking?! ...school...