Americans who get their news primarily from cable are the only people who believe that Israel is not committing a genocide in Gaza, according to a new survey that examined the relationship between attitudes toward the war and news consumption habits.
The survey puts numbers on trends that have become increasingly apparent: Cable news viewers are more supportive of Israel’s war effort, less likely to think Israel is committing war crimes, and less interested in the war in general. People who get their news primarily from social media, YouTube, or podcasts, by contrast, generally side with the Palestinians, believe Israel is committing war crimes and genocide, and consider the issue of significant importance.
And yet there are still lots of people on here who tell us that western media is not biased, and trot out nonsense like mediabiasfactcheck to argue why we should only consume information from mainstream western sources.
I talked to a boomer fox news watcher recently, and apparently the current party line is that since the US firebombed dresden, what Israel is doing to Gaza is justified. The US even bombed white europeans, so how can you criticize them for killing middle-easterners?
IE, nothing wrong with murdering civilians as long as the US did it first, and to criticize Israel for doing what the US already did is unpatriotic, and the protesters have no right to protest this genocide.
At least the US right is honest about their values, and make no justifications or apologies for civilian murder.
Indeed, this is the key difference I see between liberals and conservatives in US. Conservatives are just more honest about their support for US hegemony by any means necessary. Meanwhile, liberals will do hand wringing and talk about lesser evils to justify atrocities.
TV will be known as the lead in the pipes that drove Rome mad.
Its sad how effective tv propaganda is. I'm glad social media, despite all its flaws exists now.
Only social media users said they’d be more likely to support a candidate who supported Palestinians (33-19 percent). Just 15 percent of cable news viewers said the same, even though 31 percent of cable viewers agreed that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians.
Does this mean what I think it means? That roughly half of the cable news watchers who believe that Israel is commiting genocide literally do not care?
No necessarily half but that's the logical result. theoretically there could be some weird group that doesn't believe in genocide (part of the 69%) but would still support a pro Palestine candidate. Furthermore, as bad as the destruction of Palestine is many people only consider genocide to literally be the Holocaust and that style of commiting it. I could conceive of some pedants saying there isn't a genocide but to stop the violence.
Though, I unfortunately think you might be right.
In your scenario, if some of the people who think there is no genocide still supported a pro Palestinians candidate (likely that there are at least some), then the number of people who believe there is a genocide, but still wouldn't support a pro Palestinians candidate would be even higher. My scenario is actually the most optimistic one.
Uhh, worse actually. I think it means about 50% of Cable news watchers (Fox, OAN) who feel it's a genocide, think getting rid of Palestinians is a good thing and that they had it coming.
They're the creepy Americans, sorry...we hate them too.
That’s what the revolution will not be televised has always meant though
Jesus Christ, what is CNN airing? That's pretty much the only story in Israel/Palestine. Legitimate argument is just about whether it's genocide, or "only" close.
Edit: Unfortunately I can't see the study for the exact percentage of cable news viewers. Fox, of course, is unsurprising. Fluff pieces go where important ones that are too politically inconvenient would. CNN usually likes to follow the bleeding wherever it goes.
you're going to get that when
a) western media and journalists are deathly afraid of being labeled antisemites for reporting on what the secular government of israel is doing and
b) cable news viewers skew overwhelmingly republican and conservative who are already antimuslim and pro israel to begin with.
these are the people who are keeping the current administration from telling it like it really is. because I honestly don't believe that bibi would be as empowered to do what he's been doing in gaza if the us government isn't actively publicly condemning in plain language what has happened already.
