Corporate Media Is The Misinformation Problem

[kazoolaw]

Pop Quiz
Just over 2 weeks ago more than 1,600 scientists from around the world signed on to a "World Climate Declaration" titled THERE IS NO CLIMATE EMERGENCY.
My question is not whether you agree with the Declaration or its contents.
Instead, in line with the title of this thread, I have 3 questions:
(1) Have you heard about this Declaration?
(2) If so, where and when did you hear of the Declaration?
(3) If so, how would you describe the "tone" of the coverage, such as biased for, biased against, neutral reporting?
The Declaration is dated August 14, 2023.
https://clintel.org/wp-content/uploa...ion-081423.pdf

[Chip]

1) No.

2) On your post. Sucker.

3) Seems like a replay of the tobacco/smoking thing. Liars, scumbags, loonies, and shills peddling disinformation for money.

A "World Climate Declaration" signed by more than 1,200 people and widely shared on social media challenges the scientific consensus on human-driven climate change. But only a small number of the signatories are climate scientists, some have links to the oil industry or climate-skeptic organizations, and the claims have been widely debunked.

"A global network of over 1200 scientists and professionals has prepared this urgent message. Climate science should be less political, while climate policies should be more scientific," says the text of the declaration under the title: "There is no climate emergency." The declaration was shared on platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in August 2022."

https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32HG6HR

[kazoolaw]

Thanks for your reaction Chip..

[TSherbs]

I have been getting news notices from the 1440 group. Not bad, and quite middle of the road. You get ads to scroll past, but I've been learning to blur my brain as I go past them. Curated by humans, not by algorithms.

[724Seney]

Thanks for your reaction Chip..

Isn't he a swell guy!!

[TSherbs]

Here is an interesting critique of bad news interview behavior and bad politician behavior in reply (from Tangle):

Andrea Mitchell vs Vivek Ramaswamy

https://www.readtangle.com/vivek-ram...gle-newsletter

[Chip]

Windex Ramasalamy?

Is he a politician? Hardly. Never been elected, no record of governing.

He's just a mouthy rich twat with a hyperinflated ego (remind you of anyone?) scrabbling to attract the Trumpoid base.

[Chip]

This is a genuine conspiracy.

Texas fracking billionaire brothers fuel rightwing media with millions of dollars

Farris and Dan Wilks’ deep pockets fund climate denialism education, conservative politicians and pro-fossil fuel projects

Peter Stone
5 Sep 2023

Two billionaire Texas brothers whose fortunes derive from oil and gas fracking have pumped millions of dollars into rightwing media outfits that have promoted climate-crisis denialism and sent more big checks to back an array of evangelical projects and conservative Texas politicians. The fracking billionaires Farris and Dan Wilks have each doled out millions of dollars through separate foundations over the last decade to a number of high-profile conservative and religious groups including the Heritage Foundation, Family Research Council and Focus on the Family.

“Thanks to their incredible wealth and largesse, the country as well as the [Republican] party are now feeling the effects of their aggressive brand of religiously-charged political activism,” said Darren Dochuk, a history professor at the University of Notre Dame and author of Anointed with Oil.

Farris Wilks and his wife control the Thirteen Foundation, while Dan Wilks and his wife lead the Heavenly Fathers Foundation, both of which have been funded with proceeds from the 2011 sale of their majority stake in Frac Tech Services for $3.2bn. Since they created their foundations, six- and seven-figure checks from the Wilks brothers have bolstered numerous pro-fossil fuel and evangelical projects.

The Wilks brothers, for instance, have poured millions of dollars into PragerU and the Daily Wire, two rightwing media outlets that have promoted wide-ranging conservative agendas, including climate crisis denialism to school-age kids and adults via short videos, articles and other materials. The two brothers have given at least $8m to PragerU, which is unaccredited, according to Texas financial records. In July, Florida approved the use of what PragerU has called its “edutainment” videos and other materials for use in its classrooms, and PragerU has said it is trying to get other states, including Texas, to do likewise.

In 2015, Farris Wilks gave $4.7m to help launch the Daily Wire and remains an owner of the media company, whose founding editor and co-owner Ben Shapiro has forged ties with Dennis Prager, the PragerU founder and talkshow host. Shapiro and Prager are slated to attend a PragerU “founders’ retreat” in September for donors who give at least $100,000 a year. Historically, the two brothers have also backed a number of rightwing Texas Republicans including Senator Ted Cruz, whose abortive run for president in 2016 was bolstered by $15m they gave to a pro-Cruz Super Pac.

More recent tax reports from the two foundations underscore their deep pockets. The Thirteen Foundation donated about $5m in 2021 and ended the year with close to $60m in assets. By contrast, the Heavenly Fathers Foundation gave away just under $11m in fiscal year 2022 and ended the year with about $187m in assets. The evangelical ties of the Wilks brothers are deep and personal. Farris Wilks is a preacher in Cisco, Texas, a town of approximately 3,000 people, where he leads the Assembly of Yahweh Seventh Day church, which was founded by his father and interprets the Bible literally while embracing Old and New Testament teachings.

Farris Wilks has railed against homosexuality, which he deems a sin. According to recordings of his sermons, homosexuality is “a perversion tantamount to bestiality, pedophilia and incest”. Farris Wilks also seems to equate the climate crisis with God’s will. “If [God] wants the polar caps to remain in place, then he will leave them there,” he said to worshippers at a 2013 service. To promote his evangelical views, Farris Wilks and his brother have donated millions of dollars to several conservative Christian groups including Liberty Counsel, Heartbeat International and Family Talk.

Scholars who have studied the influence of big oil and the US right credit the Wilks brothers with playing a growing role in funding and shaping the conservative and evangelical right in Texas and nationally. “The Wilks brothers epitomize the new strain of religious-right culture-warring that has taken hold of the GOP. Blending fierce allegiance to free-market economics with equally fierce commitment to social conservatism [and] anti-statist rage with Christian nationalist sentiments, they seek to draw the church itself (not just church folk) into battle for control of the country,” said Dochuk.

“What makes the Wilks’ strain of religious-right politics so potent and impactful is its striking range of priorities, including abortion, gay rights and the broader crusade for traditional family values. Significantly, the Wilks’ big checks are also aimed at influencing the politics of climate and environment, energy and extraction, to protect fossil fuel interests.”

To be sure, the Wilks brothers’ big checks have both long-term conservative ideological goals and short-term political ones. In recent years in Texas, the Wilks brothers – often in tandem with another billionaire, the Texas fossil-fuel mogul Tim Dunn – have poured millions of dollars into nonprofits like Defend Texas Liberty and Empower Texans to push their ultraconservative social and political views. Defend Texas Liberty, for instance, has donated about $3m to the state’s Lt Gov Dan Patrick, who will be the acting judge at the upcoming Texas senate trial of the state’s attorney general Ken Paxton, who in May was impeached by the Texas house on bribery, abuse of power and other charges. Patrick received a $2m loan and a $1m donation from Defend Texas Liberty Pac, according to recent Texas records.

The Pac is well-known for funding conservative challengers to Texas house GOP members and, in a recent campaign filing, reported receiving a $1.5m check from Farris Wilks and his wife and close to $2m dollars from Dunn.

Defend Texas Liberty has been blunt about its anger over Paxton’s impeachment. “Defend Texas Liberty will ensure that every Republican voter in Texas knows just what a sham the Texas house has been this session and just how absurd this last minute Democrat led impeachment effort is,” the group said in a 26 May tweet. Experts who follow the influence of the Wilks brothers say their sprawling agendas and big checks spark strong concerns.

“Farris and Dan Wilks, who believe their billions were given to them by God, have spent the last decade working to advance a dominionist ideology by funding far-right organizations and politicians that seek to dismiss climate change as ‘God’s will’, remove choice, demonize the LGBTQ community, and tear down public education, all to turn America into a country that gives preference to and imposes their extreme beliefs on everyone,” said Chris Tackett, a Texas-based campaign finance analyst. “The goal of [the] Wilks and those that share their ideology is to gain control of levers of power and control information. That’s why they invest heavily into politicians, agenda-driven non-profits and media organizations like PragerU and the Daily Wire. It is all connected.”

Dochuk voices similar concerns. “The Wilks brothers aren’t the only ones with oil and gas ties to question climate change science from a position of self-interest; with so much invested in hydrocarbon society, their pro-fossil fuel, anti-climate-crisis science position only makes sense. Where the Wilks take things further, however, is their articulation of climate change denialism in theological terms, as if we are all destined by God for a future of environmental ruin we have no responsibility for and can’t control. The force of their advocacy, informing PragerU, the Daily Wire and other conservative media outlets, is what makes their influence so penetrating and paralyzing, and insidious.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...e_iOSApp_Other

[724Seney]

He's just a mouthy rich twat with a hyperinflated ego (remind you of anyone?)

YES!
The resemblance is really striking.
He reminds me of YOU.

[TSherbs]

He's just a mouthy rich twat with a hyperinflated ego (remind you of anyone?)

YES!
The resemblance is really striking.
He reminds me of YOU.

I notice that you don't deny this description of Ramaswamy. I think that it is spot on. I'd add the word "smarmy," also. He is irritating in the extreme. But, since the GOP has not been nominating anyone who isn't noxious in the extreme for 7 years now, I guess that this isn't disqualifying in any way. In fact, I consider it to be quite calculated.

[TSherbs]

...Scholars who have studied the influence of big oil and the US right credit the Wilks brothers with playing a growing role in funding and shaping the conservative and evangelical right in Texas and nationally. “The Wilks brothers epitomize the new strain of religious-right culture-warring that has taken hold of the GOP. Blending fierce allegiance to free-market economics with equally fierce commitment to social conservatism [and] anti-statist rage with Christian nationalist sentiments, they seek to draw the church itself (not just church folk) into battle for control of the country,” said Dochuk.

“What makes the Wilks’ strain of religious-right politics so potent and impactful is its striking range of priorities, including abortion, gay rights and the broader crusade for traditional family values. Significantly, the Wilks’ big checks are also aimed at influencing the politics of climate and environment, energy and extraction, to protect fossil fuel interests.”

The blessings of that unique brand of American religious extremism and wealth, especially where those involved are brimming with self-righteous certitude in their crusade against social change and against the expansion of liberty, freedom, and justice for all.

[724Seney]

He's just a mouthy rich twat with a hyperinflated ego (remind you of anyone?)

YES!
The resemblance is really striking.
He reminds me of YOU.

I notice that you don't deny this description of Ramaswamy. I think that it is spot on. I'd add the word "smarmy," also. He is irritating in the extreme. But, since the GOP has not been nominating anyone who isn't noxious in the extreme for 7 years now, I guess that this isn't disqualifying in any way. In fact, I consider it to be quite calculated.

Thanks for noticing. But also be aware it was a worthless "notice." My comment was directed solely at the question posed by Chip. As a reminder, that question was "Remind you of anyone?"
And, my oh my, it did!! Very strikingly so! Again, to refresh your memory (or what's left of it) I observed "A mouthy rich twat with a hyperinflated ego" as a comment which describes Chip to a "T."

No reference to or insinuation of Ramaswamy is anywhere to be found in my post. So, you noticed correctly but, as usual, you connected the wrong dots.
#pinhead

[Chip]

Is 724 your cell number at the institution?

[TSherbs]

He's just a mouthy rich twat with a hyperinflated ego (remind you of anyone?)

YES!
The resemblance is really striking.
He reminds me of YOU.

I notice that you don't deny this description of Ramaswamy. I think that it is spot on. I'd add the word "smarmy," also. He is irritating in the extreme. But, since the GOP has not been nominating anyone who isn't noxious in the extreme for 7 years now, I guess that this isn't disqualifying in any way. In fact, I consider it to be quite calculated.

Thanks for noticing. But also be aware it was a worthless "notice." My comment was directed solely at the question posed by Chip. As a reminder, that question was "Remind you of anyone?"
And, my oh my, it did!! Very strikingly so! Again, to refresh your memory (or what's left of it) I observed "A mouthy rich twat with a hyperinflated ego" as a comment which describes Chip to a "T."

No reference to or insinuation of Ramaswamy is anywhere to be found in my post. So, you noticed correctly but, as usual, you connected the wrong dots.
#pinhead

Of course you did not refer to Ramaswamy. That would have actually been on topic.

It's always a "pleasure" to have you around to castigate members and not have a single word to say on the topic. The degree to which you do this is as instructive as anything else around here done by anyone else.

[724Seney]

He's just a mouthy rich twat with a hyperinflated ego (remind you of anyone?)

YES!
The resemblance is really striking.
He reminds me of YOU.

I notice that you don't deny this description of Ramaswamy. I think that it is spot on. I'd add the word "smarmy," also. He is irritating in the extreme. But, since the GOP has not been nominating anyone who isn't noxious in the extreme for 7 years now, I guess that this isn't disqualifying in any way. In fact, I consider it to be quite calculated.

Thanks for noticing. But also be aware it was a worthless "notice." My comment was directed solely at the question posed by Chip. As a reminder, that question was "Remind you of anyone?"
And, my oh my, it did!! Very strikingly so! Again, to refresh your memory (or what's left of it) I observed "A mouthy rich twat with a hyperinflated ego" as a comment which describes Chip to a "T."

No reference to or insinuation of Ramaswamy is anywhere to be found in my post. So, you noticed correctly but, as usual, you connected the wrong dots.
#pinhead

Of course you did not refer to Ramaswamy. That would have actually been on topic.

It's always a "pleasure" to have you around to castigate members and not have a single word to say on the topic. The degree to which you do this is as instructive as anything else around here done by anyone else.

Oh, I see....the idea is to remain "on topic?"
How can you even say that with a straight face?
You are such a frikkin' hypocrite, it is ridiculous.
#pinhead

[TSherbs]

Once again, you grant the content of the statement by simply attacking the messenger.

If you were to say something on the topic, you would say something about the recent media disinformation you see (or don't see), or perhaps something about Ramaswamay's interview on MSNBC (I quoted an article about the bad interview and his bad responses).

[TSherbs]

Here is an interesting critique of bad news interview behavior and bad politician behavior in reply (from Tangle):

Andrea Mitchell vs Vivek Ramaswamy

https://www.readtangle.com/vivek-ram...gle-newsletter

Here, Seney. Reposted for clarity. Right on the topic.

One of the strengths of Tangle is that the writer provides BOTH a point of view from the "Right" and a point of view from the "Left" and then gives "his take"--and he works hard to be balanced and independent. I don't always agree with him, but I ALWAYS read his opinion (Isaac Saul). AdFontes Media rates their bias in the middle, but just slightly right-leaning. Refreshing at times.

https://www.readtangle.com/about/

[TSherbs]

Two billionaire Texas brothers whose fortunes derive from oil and gas fracking have pumped millions of dollars into rightwing media outfits that have promoted climate-crisis denialism and sent more big checks to back an array of evangelical projects and conservative Texas politicians. The fracking billionaires Farris and Dan Wilks have each doled out millions of dollars through separate foundations over the last decade to a number of high-profile conservative and religious groups including the Heritage Foundation, Family Research Council and Focus on the Family.

“Thanks to their incredible wealth and largesse, the country as well as the [Republican] party are now feeling the effects of their aggressive brand of religiously-charged political activism,” said Darren Dochuk, a history professor at the University of Notre Dame and author of Anointed with Oil.

Farris Wilks and his wife control the Thirteen Foundation, while Dan Wilks and his wife lead the Heavenly Fathers Foundation, both of which have been funded with proceeds from the 2011 sale of their majority stake in Frac Tech Services for $3.2bn. Since they created their foundations, six- and seven-figure checks from the Wilks brothers have bolstered numerous pro-fossil fuel and evangelical projects.

The Wilks brothers, for instance, have poured millions of dollars into PragerU and the Daily Wire, two rightwing media outlets that have promoted wide-ranging conservative agendas, including climate crisis denialism to school-age kids and adults via short videos, articles and other materials. The two brothers have given at least $8m to PragerU, which is unaccredited, according to Texas financial records. In July, Florida approved the use of what PragerU has called its “edutainment” videos and other materials for use in its classrooms, and PragerU has said it is trying to get other states, including Texas, to do likewise.

In 2015, Farris Wilks gave $4.7m to help launch the Daily Wire and remains an owner of the media company, whose founding editor and co-owner Ben Shapiro has forged ties with Dennis Prager, the PragerU founder and talkshow host. Shapiro and Prager are slated to attend a PragerU “founders’ retreat” in September for donors who give at least $100,000 a year. Historically, the two brothers have also backed a number of rightwing Texas Republicans including Senator Ted Cruz, whose abortive run for president in 2016 was bolstered by $15m they gave to a pro-Cruz Super Pac.

...

Or here, Seney, right on topic. You might respond to *any* of the material from this article, which is about money and religious influence in conservative media outlets and other places.

[dneal]

To be generous, let’s just say the legacy media was simply incorrect with these “stories” they advanced.

How many did you fall for, and why do you still believe the same media?

IMG_0731.jpeg

[Chuck Naill]

Whoever compiled that list was playing with someone’s mind. I’ll provide an example. No one ever said that getting any vaccine would prevent contracting an infection.

What was stated clearly that a vaccine provides the best protection against hospitalization and death, for which it has been proven to have provided. We can add protection against “long Covid”.

It is obvious to me that some of you get your information from alternative sites. Maybe face book or YouTube. I say this because it’s easy to search on what you say and end up on those sorts of websites.