If I may be permitted to use a Fox News technique, some people say pornography is a dirty business. Yet is there any business dirtier than politics? Suddenly we find ourselves in September and the middle of the Republican National Convention.If I may be permitted to use a Fox News technique, some people say pornography is a dirty business. Yet is there any business dirtier than politics? Suddenly we find ourselves in September and the middle of the Republican National Convention. Suddenly that November 2nd moment of truth seems a lot closer than it did just a few weeks ago. Like it or not, America will soon be asked to decide whether George W. Bush will get a second term as President of the United States. And many Americans will rely on the mainstream news channels, including number one-rated Fox News, for accurate and truthful information that will help them make their important decision.

The current state of politics in modern America is something akin to that yellow air that hangs ominously over the city of Los Angeles. Those who associate themselves with one of the major political parties are immediately viewed as suspect when they open their mouths to voice an opinion. Truly important issues are muddied with sensational bickering nonsense, and attention is regularly drawn away from what matters most to this country’s future. And perhaps, most upsetting of all, some of the mainstream news companies have finally decided that making a buck is more important than informing the public in an honest and ethical manner.

The Fox News Channel was recently exposed in a documentary titled Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War On Journalism. Countless former employees and copies of company memos proved to me beyond any reasonable doubt that Fox News purposefully slants its presentations towards one of the two political parties while bombarding viewers with slogans like “Fair and Balanced” and “We Report, You Decide” in order to cover their tracks. Fox News hosts such as Bill O’Reilly use clever slogans like “No Spin Zone” and claim to be independent political thinkers; yet the facts get in the way of these lofty claims. Shows like Hannity and Colmes claim to present “both sides” of important political news issues, yet one of the two hosts seems horribly mismatched and incapable or making intelligent or articulate arguments. Internal Fox company memos, now in public view, show that Fox News management regularly instructs its various news sources on how to make one party look heroic and how to downplay the accomplishments of the other party. One Fox reporter even apparently lost her position covering the 2000 presidential election because she asked tough questions that made the favored political party look bad.

For those of you interested in learning more about Fox News, you might try visiting this website: Outfoxed.org. Decide for yourself if the issues that I am raising here are important. Decide for yourself if the accusations leveled against Fox are justified, or are merely the ravings of political activists. I was convinced, and I’m betting that most of you who read this will also be convinced should you take it upon yourself to listen to the case against Fox News. If you don’t want to buy the documentary then you can always read this lengthy indictment of Fox by the non-profit organization FAIR:

http://www.fair.org/extra/0108/fox-main.html

Most of you probably know which side gets the preferential treatment over at Fox. Here’s a hint: Of the two major candidates for president, only one has a first cousin who is the head of the Fox newsroom. But partisan politics aside, what’s really important here is that Fox is not reporting the news is a fair and balanced manner. And what’s worse is that they are doing everything in their power to convince you that they are because their political manipulation works best on an unsuspecting population. I believe Fox News is, in fact, engaged in a carefully orchestrated propaganda scheme on a scale that is really just unprecedented in this country.

What Fox News is doing is dangerous to democracy because so many well-intentioned Americans believe Fox News to be merely an unbiased source of information. Propaganda works best when its audience does not know that it is being manipulated. Should it upset Americans that rich and powerful men have taken such extraordinary steps to manipulate and misinform them? I think that it should.

Is Fox alone? Are the other networks also behaving badly? Truthfully there isn’t enough evidence on the other networks at this point, although they too have come under an increasing degree of scrutiny. Their lack of coverage of the Fox News memo leak is certainly interesting. We’ll have to keep an eye on them, certainly.

Now certain members of the other side have suggested that the answer to this problem is to create news networks geared towards the opposing point of view. Frankly folks, that’s an absurd response to this problem. Fighting propaganda with more propaganda isn’t going to help Americans make informed decisions.

The sex industry is well aware how damaging disinformation campaigns can be when properly executed. So many Americans today believe that pornography is inherently evil, and that it exploits and degrades women. Christian values groups have been pushing these lies for years. Too many people seem ready to believe that adult website operators purposefully target children. The line between child pornography and adult pornography is constantly blurred in the mainstream press. Just the other day, ABC News ran a lengthy story which claimed – without giving any consideration whatsoever to the other side of the issue – that pornography is dangerously addictive like certain illegal drugs, and that cyber porn is responsible for wrecking marriages.

No matter which side of the political fence you sit, I think most of us can agree that people ought to make informed decisions when they vote in elections. I think we can agree that the nation’s news outlets should not be covert propaganda machines, but should merely present the facts in a truthfully balanced manner. Opinion-based reporting, such as the editorial you are reading right now, should be clearly identified as op/ed pieces. Since the leadership of the country depends on American voters, shouldn’t those voters make decisions based on accurate information and not disinformation campaigns masquerading as balanced and fair new reports?

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: adult webmasters have at their disposal a rather large audience. So what can you do about this? It’s important to help inform Americans that they are being manipulated by powerful media companies. Helping restore that questioning doubt in the minds of Fox viewers is an important step, and it won’t cost you a dime. If Fox wants to operate a biased news agency then they should simply admit to their approach, properly label themselves and stop the manipulation with slogans like “Fair and Balanced.” Anything you can do to call attention to this issue is helpful.

The adult industry has always been a rebellious industry. Selling sex in a Christian-dominated country can be a challenge at times. Yet when you’re in a minority position, as adult webmasters clearly find themselves to be, a truly fair and balanced media can be one of the only tools available to fend off moves by the majority to oppress your freedom of expression. Certainly this is an issue that is worth just an hour or two of your time? So help spread the word about Fox in any way that you can.

Connor Young is Editor-in-Chief of YNOT News. He has been involved with the online adult entertainment business since 1997, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Internet Freedom Association (i-freedom.org); He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of The ADULTWEBMASTER Magazine.