"This could be a legal bloodbath," Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department inspector general, says. The complaint filed by the Washington group alleges that Fox News's broadcasting of false information about the coronavirus violated Washington state's consumer protection statute, and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.
The group says Fox News “willfully and maliciously” spread false information in February and March to its average audience of 2.5 million viewers. By denying or minimizing the danger, the network “had the effect of delaying and interfering with the implementation of effective mitigation and countermeasures against the virus,” the complaint alleges.
The lawsuit — which names the network, its parent companies, Rupert Murdoch and AT&T and Comcast as defendants — seeks both declaratory relief, and asks the judge to block the network from broadcasting false information about the pandemic in the future.
https://www.salon.com/2020/03/30/fox-news-concerned-about-potential-legal-action-over-its-misleading-coronavirus-coverage-report/
:::
FOX NEWS: For Entertainment Purposes Only.
The phrase for “entertainment purposes” only recently reared its figurative head in the compliance space. Several individuals and their affiliated companies in California, Oregon, and Texas operated websites selling fake documents. These sites offered fake documents of many different types, including pay stubs, income tax forms, medical statements, bank statements, auto insurance cards, utility and cable bills.
The websites were named (Fake Pay - Stub Online.com), (Novelty - Excuses.com), and (Pay Stub - Direct.com). They promised that the documents were fake but looked authentic. As was the case with betting slips, the sites claimed that the fake documents being sold were for “entertainment” purposes or were merely “novelty” items. The Federal Trade Commission disagreed.
Shut It Down: The FTC found that the fake documents sold by these sites would easily be used to commit identity theft and loan fraud. In addition, in the event of identity theft, the victim’s credit rating would be significantly damaged. Needless to say, the FTC took a dim view of these enterprises and filed stipulated orders permanently prohibiting the owners from making any misrepresentations about identity, finances, residence addresses, taxes, or employment. In other words, the “entertainment purposes” disclaimer did not hold water.
Fake. Used in particular by purported 'reality' television programmes to allow them to present fictional material without having to explicitly label it as such or incur regulatory liability.
Disclaimer: The denial, refusal, or rejection of a right, power, or responsibility.
A disclaimer is a defensive measure, used generally with the purpose of protection from unwanted claims or liability. A restaurant may disclaim responsibility for loss or damage to a customer's Personal Property, or a disclaimer clause in a contract might set forth certain promises and deny all other promises or responsibilities.
https://www.agent-entrepreneur.com/355479/for-entertainment-purposes-only
:::
READING TOMORROW'S NEWS TODAY...
Fox News & Psychic Friends Network To Add ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only' Disclaimer.
"The Fox lawyers had their day." Charles Foster Kane. The Huffington Post Canada.
Fox News will begin airing a disclaimer later this month, declaring that its programming is "for entertainment purposes only," according to sources close to the cable channel.
Several individuals inside Fox Entertainment Group, Fox News Channel's parent company, say the decision was made in order to shield the network from possible legal liabilities.
The disclaimer, which will start airing on the network by mid-April, will appear during program openings in small text at the bottom of the screen at the same time as the show's title.
One source said the network's legal team had been asking CEO Roger Ailes for years to include the disclaimer, but their request was rejected until Hulk Hogan's successful invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against Gawker. That legal action resulted in the website shutting down and selling off its assets.
"Thanks to that, the Fox lawyers had their day," one source told The Huffington Post Canada, on condition of anonymity. "They pushed and pushed and eventually they got what they wanted."
Another source at Fox said they were "furious" with Ailes' decision.
"This is basically censorship. They are trying to damage FNC's credibility. This is basically a bunch of rich left-coast elitists pulling one over on the network. And these guys are getting paid good money by Fox."
The source suggested the channel will reverse the policy after "an uproar from our viewers."
Critics of FNC's coverage have long maintained the network distorts or omits facts in order to present a conservative view of the world, and that it has disproportionately supported Republicans in its election donations.
Some have noted that Ailes himself has at times suggested that Fox News is in the entertainment, not news, business.
Ailes told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015 that he does not consider the other basic cable news channels — CNN and MSNBC — to be Fox's competitors.
"We're competing with TNT and USA and ESPN," he said.
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/04/01/fox-news-for-entertainment-purposes-only-disclaimer_n_15727044.html
:::
Fox News Is NOT News: Network's Own Ads Label Its Programming As 'Entertainment'
Most Americans don't need Fox News to inform them that the network is a rabidly partisan, right-wing propaganda machine. However, it's nice of them to admit it from time to time, and to provide incontrovertible proof.
The latest public confession by Fox came when they posted promotions for the premiere of Tucker Carlson Tonight. Carlson is the Trump-loving, ultra-conservative, knee-jerk GOP mouthpiece tapped to fill Megyn Kelly's stiletto heels. On the Fox News website they posted ads to draw viewers to the new primetime program under an unusual category heading: Entertainment.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/1/14/1620475/-Fox-News-Is-NOT-News-Network-s-Own-Ads-Label-Its-Programming-As-Entertainment
:::
If you watch paranormal shows like 'Ghost Adventures', 'Paranormal Lockdown', 'Ghost Chasers' or 'Help! My House Is Haunted' then you can't fail to have noticed a message which pops up before the show which states "this programme is for entertainment purposes only". What does this disclaimer mean and why is it shown?
The British media watchdog, Ofcom, insists that all ghost hunting shows or programmes featuring psychic mediums must show the disclaimer prior to broadcast.
It's intend to inform the audience that the activities and evidence presented in the show may be fictional, staged, exaggerated or unproven. Because these type of shows are often presented as reality TV, this disclaimer is supposed to prevent television audiences from taking what they see on screen too seriously. It also covers the programme makers and television channels from a legal standpoint, as it stops viewers being able to question the authenticity of these shows or sue the network if they feel they have been misled.
Read more at https://www.higgypop.com/news/for-entertainment-purposes-only/
:::
Washington State Group Is 1st to Sue Fox News for Calling Coronavirus a ‘Hoax’
https://timesofsandiego.com/business/2020/04/02/washington-state-group-is-1st-to-sue-fox-news-for-calling-coronavirus-a-hoax/
:::
Fox News Faces Lawsuit Over Its Coronavirus Coverage:
https://www.courthousenews.com/fox-news-faces-lawsuit-over-its-coronavirus-coverage/
:::
Fox News Faces Lawsuit For Calling COVID-19 A ‘Hoax’
https://www.forbes.com/sites/legalentertainment/2020/04/10/covid-19-lawsuit-against-fox-news/#4ed7c9e35739
:::
Fox News Is Preparing to Be Sued Over Coronavirus Misinformation
Polls show that Trish Regan, Sean Hannity, and others successfully bamboozled viewers about coronavirus. Now, Fox is reportedly lawyering up for a potential legal backlash.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/04/fox-news-prepares-coronavirus-misinformation-lawsuits
:::
Fox News Reportedly Concerned Its Misleading COVID-19 Reporting Will Lead to Lawsuits
https://www.complex.com/life/2020/03/fox-news-reportedly-concerned-legal-action-over-misleading-covid-19-reports
:::
Fox News blasts merit-starved coronavirus lawsuit
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/15/fox-news-blasts-merit-starved-coronavirus-lawsuit/
https://www.justsecurity.org/69556/lawsuit-against-fox-news-over-coronavirus-coverage-can-it-succeed-should-it/
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-fox-news-lawsuit-washington-rupert-murdock-a9451281.html
https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-we-support-cnns-lawsuit-against-trump
https://www.thewrap.com/fox-news-coronavirus-lawsuit/
https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/349584/fox-news-sued-over-covid-19-commentary.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8187883/Fox-News-sued-willfully-maliciously-deceiving-public-dangers-coronavirus.html
:::
Trump, Coronavirus and the Case for Manslaughter.
Why is Donald Trump's deadly mishandling of the Coronavirus more consistent with the crime of involuntary manslaughter as opposed to voluntary manslaughter? And what does Trump's conduct have in common with a DC vehicular homicide case? Please watch to find out.
https://youtu.be/t83ZlWkUJ0U
:::
Cult Experts Warn That Trumpism Is Starting to Look Awfully Familiar.
CALLS TO SACRIFICE LIFE TO THE CORONAVIRUS “EVOKE MEMORIES OF PEOPLE LINING UP TO DRINK CYANIDE.”
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/04/trump-death-cult/
:::
Steven Hassan, mind control expert and mental health professional, joined Adam Reilly, in for Jim Braude, to discuss his new book The Cult of Trump. In it, Hassan traces the history of cult organizations and the similarities between cult leaders and President Donald Trump.
https://youtu.be/IwN8zt-Pi5M
:::
Trump as Jim Jones?
https://www.bainbridgereview.com/opinion/trump-as-jim-jones-james-a-haught/
:::
Scaramucci compares Trump to Jonestown cult leader: 'It's like a hostage crisis inside the White House'
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/458555-scaramucci-compares-trump-to-jonestown-cult-leader-its-like-a-hostage
:::
The Cult of Trump? What “Cult Rhetoric” Actually Reveals.
https://religionandpolitics.org/2019/10/29/the-cult-of-trump-what-cult-rhetoric-actually-reveals/
https://www.salon.com/2020/04/07/cult-expert-steven-hassan-trumps-mind-control-cult-now-faces-an-existential-crisis/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-republican-party-is-in-thrall-to-trump-does-that-make-him-a-cult-leader/2019/10/03/63855136-d592-11e9-9343-40db57cf6abd_story.html
https://medium.com/@susiemeister/the-legacy-of-jim-jones-and-the-cult-of-donald-trump-116fd56aa612
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/12/20/trump-as-jim-jones/
:::
An Analysis of Trump Supporters Has Identified 5 Key Traits.
A report sheds light on the psychological basis for Trump's support.
The lightning-fast ascent and political invincibility of Donald Trump has left many experts baffled and wondering, “How did we get here?” Any accurate and sufficient answer to that question must not only focus on Trump himself, but also on his uniquely loyal supporters. Given their extreme devotion and unwavering admiration for their highly unpredictable and often inflammatory leader, some have turned to the field of psychology for scientific explanations based on precise quantitative data and established theoretical frameworks.
Although analyses and studies by psychologists and neuroscientists have provided many thought-provoking explanations for his enduring support, the accounts of different experts often vary greatly, sometimes overlapping and other times conflicting. However insightful these critiques may be, it is apparent that more research and examination is needed to hone in on the exact psychological and social factors underlying this peculiar human behavior.
In a recent review paper published in the Journal of Social and Political Psychology, Psychologist and UC Santa Cruz professor Thomas Pettigrew argues that five major psychological phenomena can help explain this exceptional political event.
1. Authoritarian Personality Syndrome
Authoritarianism refers to the advocacy or enforcement of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom, and is commonly associated with a lack of concern for the opinions or needs of others. Authoritarian personality syndrome—a well-studied and globally-prevalent condition—is a state of mind that is characterized by belief in total and complete obedience to one’s authority. Those with the syndrome often display aggression toward outgroup members, submissiveness to authority, resistance to new experiences, and a rigid hierarchical view of society. The syndrome is often triggered by fear, making it easy for leaders who exaggerate threat or fear monger to gain their allegiance.
Although authoritarian personality is found among liberals, it is more common among the right-wing around the world. President Trump’s speeches, which are laced with absolutist terms like “losers” and “complete disasters,” are naturally appealing to those with the syndrome.
While research showed that Republican voters in the U.S. scored higher than Democrats on measures of authoritarianism before Trump emerged on the political scene, a 2016 Politico survey found that high authoritarians greatly favored then-candidate Trump, which led to a correct prediction that he would win the election, despite the polls saying otherwise.
2. Social dominance orientation
Social dominance orientation (SDO)—which is distinct but related to authoritarian personality syndrome—refers to people who have a preference for the societal hierarchy of groups, specifically with a structure in which the high-status groups have dominance over the low-status ones. Those with SDO are typically dominant, tough-minded, and driven by self-interest.
In Trump’s speeches, he appeals to those with SDO by repeatedly making a clear distinction between groups that have a generally higher status in society (White), and those groups that are typically thought of as belonging to a lower status (immigrants and minorities).
A 2016 survey study of 406 American adults published this year in the journal Personality and Individual Differences found that those who scored high on both SDO and authoritarianism were those who intended to vote for Trump in the election.
3. Prejudice
It would be grossly unfair and inaccurate to say that every one of Trump’s supporters have prejudice against ethnic and religious minorities, but it would be equally inaccurate to say that many do not. It is a well-known fact that the Republican party, going at least as far back to Richard Nixon’s “southern strategy,” used strategies that appealed to bigotry, such as lacing speeches with “dog whistles”—code words that signaled prejudice toward minorities that were designed to be heard by racists but no one else.
While the dog whistles of the past were more subtle, Trump’s are sometimes shockingly direct. There’s no denying that he routinely appeals to bigoted supporters when he calls Muslims “dangerous” and Mexican immigrants “rapists” and “murderers,” often in a blanketed fashion. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a new study has shown that support for Trump is correlated with a standard scale of modern racism.
4. Intergroup contact (inbreeding)
Intergroup contact refers to contact with members of groups that are outside one’s own, which has been experimentally shown to reduce prejudice. As such, it’s important to note that there is growing evidence that Trump’s white supporters have experienced significantly less contact with minorities than other Americans. For example, a 2016 study found that “…the racial and ethnic isolation of Whites at the zip-code level is one of the strongest predictors of Trump support.” This correlation persisted while controlling for dozens of other variables. In agreement with this finding, the same researchers found that support for Trump increased with the voters’ physical distance from the Mexican border.
5. Relative deprivation
Relative deprivation refers to the experience of being deprived of something to which one believes they are entitled. It is the discontent felt when one compares their position in life to others who they feel are equal or inferior but have unfairly had more success than them.
Common explanations for Trump’s popularity among non-bigoted voters involve economics. There is no doubt that some Trump supporters are simply angry that American jobs are being lost to Mexico and China, which is certainly understandable, although these loyalists often ignore the fact that some of these careers are actually being lost due to the accelerating pace of automation.
These Trump supporters are experiencing relative deprivation, and are common among the swing states like Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. This kind of deprivation is specifically referred to as “relative,” as opposed to “absolute,” because the feeling is often based on a skewed perception of what one is entitled to. For example, an analysis conducted by FiveThirtyEight estimated that the median annual income of Trump supporters was $72,000.
If such data is accurate, the portrayal of most Trump supporters as “working class” citizens rebelling against Republican elites may be more myth than fact.
Bobby Azarian, Ph.D., is a cognitive neuroscientist and science writer in the Washington, D.C. area.
Online: www.bobbyazarian.com
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/experts/bobby-azarian-phd
https://twitter.com/BobbyAzarian
https://www.facebook.com/bobbyazarian
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobby-azarian-b4487839
This article was originally published at Raw Story.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/mind-in-the-machine/201712/analysis-trump-supporters-has-identified-5-key-traits
:::
7 Signs Someone Has Paranoid Personality Disorder?
1. They Read Negativity Into Every Interaction.
2. They Are Highly Suspicious Of All Authority Figures.
3. They're Intensely Jealous.
4. They're Secretive And Can Isolate Themselves.
5. They're Seriously Aggressive & Defensive.
6. They're Hard To Collaborate With.
7. They Could Hold Grudges For Their Country.
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/end-times/what-are-the-seven-seals-and-trumpets-in-revelation.html
https://www.bustle.com/articles/172552-7-signs-someone-has-paranoid-personality-disorder
:::
I am the chosen one,” Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday. He looked up to the heavens as he said this, CNBC reports, so perhaps he truly believes that God anointed him to win a trade war with China, which he also started. This analysis is supported by two uniquely cursed presidential tweets, which he unleashed before he spoke to reporters. In them, he quoted remarks by conservative commentator Wayne Allyn Root, who has assigned Trump a lofty and troubling designation.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/08/heres-how-wed-really-know-that-trump-is-the-antichrist.html
https://www.biblword.net/what-does-the-bible-say-about-antichrist/
:::
Antichrist’s triumphant reign (never clearly distinguished from the start of his ministry) will last for three and a half years. Like Christ, Antichrist will come to Jerusalem, but, as the opposite of Christ, he will be enthusiastically hailed and revered by the Jews.
During his reign he will rebuild the Temple and sit on the throne of Solomon in a sacrilegious and hideous inversion of just priesthood and just kingship.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Antichrist
:::
“Trump appeals to our worst demons,” he said. “There really is a worst of America, and he is a marketer for it. He’s deliberately dividing our country.”
Wallis believes much of the powerful evangelical movement isn’t based on religion, but on politics.
“In 1980 there was a political effort by Republican operatives, who approached Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and said, ‘Give us a list of your followers and we’ll create a new right wing movement and make you household names.’ It’s a political mobilization. Not theological. Not religious.”
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2019/10/10/20908102/trump-jesus-christians-evangelicals-religion-jim-wallis-steinberg
:::
Other Propagandists and Cult Leaders...
The propaganda used by the German Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany (1933–1945) was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation of Nazi policies. The pervasive use of propaganda by the Nazis is largely responsible for the word propaganda itself acquiring its present negative connotations.[1]
Propaganda must always address itself to the broad masses of the people. (...) All propaganda must be presented in a popular form and must fix its intellectual level so as not to be above the heads of the least intellectual of those to whom it is directed. (...) The art of propaganda consists precisely in being able to awaken the imagination of the public through an appeal to their feelings, in finding the appropriate psychological form that will arrest the attention and appeal to the hearts of the national masses. The broad masses of the people are not made up of diplomats or professors of public jurisprudence nor simply of persons who are able to form reasoned judgment in given cases, but a vacillating crowd of human children who are constantly wavering between one idea and another. (...) The great majority of a nation is so feminine in its character and outlook that its thought and conduct are ruled by sentiment rather than by sober reasoning. This sentiment, however, is not complex, but simple and consistent. It is not highly differentiated, but has only the negative and positive notions of love and hatred, right and wrong, truth and falsehood.[5]
As to the methods to be employed, he explains:
Propaganda must not investigate the truth objectively and, in so far as it is favorable to the other side, present it according to the theoretical rules of justice; yet it must present only that aspect of the truth which is favorable to its own side. (...) The receptive powers of the masses are very restricted, and their understanding is feeble. On the other hand, they quickly forget. Such being the case, all effective propaganda must be confined to a few bare essentials and those must be expressed as far as possible in stereotyped formulas. These slogans should be persistently repeated until the very last individual has come to grasp the idea that has been put forward. (...) Every change that is made in the subject of a propagandist message must always emphasize the same conclusion. The leading slogan must, of course, be illustrated in many ways and from several angles, but in the end one must always return to the assertion of the same formula.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_in_Nazi_Germany
