Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

The silence is deafening

The silence is deafening

Justin Nelson, joined by fellow members of the Dominion Voting Systems legal team, speaks to members of the media outside the Leonard Williams Justice Center in Wilmington, Delaware, on April 18, 2023. - Vote machine maker Dominion and Fox News settled a defamation case over falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election aired on the conservative TV network, a US judge announced Tuesday.

Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

At first when I heard the news of the unprecedented settlement in the Fox News defamation case of nearly $800 million I hoped this was a victory for democracy.


This is the first time anyone has been held accountable for the lies and deception that has resulted in 70% of Republicans believing that the presidential election of 2020 was a fraud and that Donald Trump actually won.

Yet despite the financial accountability, costing nearly $800 million and the innocuous statement that Fox News made as part of the settlement deal stating that, “We acknowledge the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false,” they are not required to make any retraction or apology, much less exhibit any remorse. Thus it is unlikely that the Fox News marketing strategy of spinning news to what their audience desires will change.

At 4:00 p.m. shortly after the settlement announcement, all the other networks and the news websites, not affiliated with Fox News reported on the settlement in great detail as the lead story. It wasn’t until several hours later that in what amounted to roughly 6 minutes of coverage that it was even mentioned on Fox News. At 4:00 p.m., The Five show on Fox News in one full hour didn’t even mention the settlement. At 5:00 p.m. during Bret Baier’s one hour show on Fox News the story was still not mentioned. It wasn’t until four hours after the announcement that Fox.news.com finally made mention of the settlement.

Fox News is the top-rated cable network, averaging 2.5 million viewers in prime time, yet these viewers will hear virtually nothing in what is a critically important story that impacts the future of our democracy. Unless, of course, they watch other news, too.

By definition failing to tell the full story about the largest public defamation case of all time, a settlement that paid Dominion six times the current value of the company, while technically not a lie, is a lie of omission with serious consequences for the future.

It is important for Americans to understand that there is no America without democracy, no democracy without voting, and no informed voting without respectful debate. Unfortunately, unless advertisers stop supporting Fox News a vast swath of the American public will not learn the truth about the election of 2020 and our democracy will suffer.

During this trying time for our democracy, The Fulcrum takes our responsibility more seriously than ever to keep our audience informed so they can collectively learn and then act to repair our democracy and make it live and work in our everyday lives. The people and organizations we cover represent all walks of life, political parties, races, identities, and religions. It is our responsibility to raise the voices of Americans who believe that what we have in common is stronger than what separates us, and to encourage them to act with conviction.

We, the people, are stronger if we work together with the full understanding that we won’t agree on everything. And that’s the point. Democracy is a process for managing disagreements, sharing power and providing consent of the governed. Fox News owes their viewers more.

Read More

Entertainment Can Improve How Democrats and Republicans See Each Other

Since the development of American mass media culture in the mid-20th century, numerous examples of entertainment media have tried to improve attitudes towards those who have traditionally held little power.

Getty Images, skynesher

Entertainment Can Improve How Democrats and Republicans See Each Other

Entertainment has been used for decades to improve attitudes toward other groups, both in the U.S. and abroad. One can think of movies like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, helping change attitudes toward Black Americans, or TV shows like Rosanne, helping humanize the White working class. Efforts internationally show that media can sometimes improve attitudes toward two groups concurrently.

Substantial research shows that Americans now hold overly negative views of those across the political spectrum. Let's now learn from decades of experience using entertainment to improve attitudes of those in other groups—but also from counter-examples that have reinforced stereotypes and whose techniques should generally be avoided—in order to improve attitudes toward fellow Americans across politics. This entertainment can allow Americans across the political spectrum to have more accurate views of each other while realizing that successful cross-ideological friendships and collaborations are possible.

Keep ReadingShow less
Close-up of military man holding hands with his therapist during counseling at mental health center.

PTSD Awareness Day is not only a time to advocate for veterans' mental health but also an opportunity for all Americans to reflect on the emotional responses triggered by political division.

Getty Images, Drazen Zigic

National PTSD Awareness Day: A Call to Action for Veterans and Civil Discourse

Each year on June 27, National PTSD Awareness Day shines a light on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), encouraging those affected to seek support. This observance was officially recognized by the U.S. Senate in 2010, following an initiative by Senator Kent Conrad to honor a North Dakota National Guard member who tragically took his own life after serving two tours in Iraq.

PTSD can develop after experiencing or witnessing traumatic events such as combat, assault, accidents, or natural disasters. Its symptoms—ranging from flashbacks and anxiety to mood swings and avoidance behaviors—can be deeply disruptive. PTSD Awareness Day is part of PTSD Awareness Month, which spans the entire month of June, promoting education, treatment options, and community support for those affected.

Keep ReadingShow less
International Students Cope With Growing Mental Health Issues
woman in brown sweater covering her face with her hand
Photo by Dev Asangbam on Unsplash

International Students Cope With Growing Mental Health Issues

Maeve Zhu, an undergraduate at the University of Washington, said moving to Seattle with hopes of studying computer science quickly became overwhelming.

"The hardest part for adjusting to life in the U.S. as an international undergrad was also my first year living overseas alone without my parents around me," said Maeve Zhu, an undergraduate at UW. "Trying to manage your time, your money, and your energy, all while being so lonely, the first year felt like living in a nightmare."

Keep ReadingShow less