The Fox News Propaganda Machine Hits A New Low
There is no crisis at the border, and there certainly is no war.
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by Ben Cohen
Below is a photo of Fox News reporter Lawrence Jones at the US-Mexico border:
A day later, Jones went live, albeit with a noticeably different look:
Same shirt, same pants. Different military colored bullet proof vest. Well, an entirely new military colored bullet proof vest that he and the border patrol agents apparently did not need the day before.
Jones claimed later that day on Sean Hannity that the border patrol agents told him to put it on “to keep us safe here.” It is unclear why a) the extremely thin vest appears to be designed for a child, and b) he was not instructed to wear a helmet (perhaps the marauding immigrants that consist mostly of desperately poor families fleeing violence only shoot Americans to the body?).
It should also be noted that Jones was filing his report in Laredo’s Webb County, which is one of the safest spots on the US border with Mexico. It is of course impossible to tell whether Jones’s version is true or not, but I’ll go out on a limb here and call bullshit. Furthermore, if the president is not required not to wear a protective vest at the border, then it is unclear why Jones was:
Jones’s segment was in all likelihood designed to bolster president Trump’s lies about the immigration crisis on the border. Fox News was simply doing its bit to create the impression that the US-Mexico border is a war zone, using Jones as a prop. And like all good Fox News contributors, Jones appeared entirely happy to play the part.
It would be hard for the militantly pro-Trump news network to go much lower than it has done in recent years, but dressing up reporters up in military garb on the US-Mexico border really does reach new levels of awfulness.
The statistics are entirely clear about what is going on at the US-Mexico border. The number of illegal immigrants residing in the US is at a 15 year low. According to Border Patrol apprehensions data, immigrants coming to the US from Mexico has fallen by more than 90% since 2000. Those who are are fleeing unimaginable poverty and violence — like millions of other immigrants throughout history who came to the US to seek a better life. There is no crisis at the border, and there certainly is no war.
Fox News wants you to believe otherwise so that Trump has something to campaign on in 2020. And thanks to complicit lackeys like Lawrence Jones, they’ll stage ridiculous propaganda stunts to further punish the most desperate people on earth.
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"It is of course impossible to tell whether Jones’s version is true or not,"
Sure it is. That it's on Fox "news" is a dead giveaway. ;-)
"All feedback very welcome! Ben"
I miss the banter aspect. What can be done to get more activity in the comments?