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...they are using the simplest and crudest form of psy-ops: outright lying. When a Republican politician breaks the law or commits adultery or is found to be ethically suspect in any way, they systematically label that politician as (D) in their reports. When a poll comes out showing that the majority of Americans holds a position that is contrary to what Fox thinks it should be, they just reverse the poll numbers and report it that way -- even using their fake numbers as "gotcha" moments in their interviews (see, for example, the recent Gallup poll showing that 61% of Americans are against stripping unions of their collective bargaining rights). They fire reporters who refuse to report falsehoods, and then win court cases affirming their right as a news organization to lie if they want to.
Apart from that, the whole approach of appealing to people's outrage, addressing their emotional responses with every story, and making sure that it hews to the right-wing / fascist view, is psyops. Once people get hooked, and have their views reinforced, and have pretty blonds acting all outraged on their behalf, it is very hard to let go or to admit that maybe they are being played.
It works very, very well.
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