Immigration Rubbish from Dobbs, O'Reilly, and Beck
Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 11:29 pm
"Fear & Loathing in Prime Time" -- Immigration myths advanced by Dobbs, O'Reilly, and Beck
by: Paul Waldman
Wed May 21, 2008
If your only source of news is cable during prime time, you might be among those who believe that the U.S. government and American society are groaning under the weight of undocumented immigrants. You might believe that there is a terrifying crime wave attributable to illegal immigration. You might believe that undocumented immigrants feast on a cornucopia of social services, while avoiding paying taxes. You might also believe that they are voting illegally in large numbers, and that they bring with them all sorts of diseases. You might also believe that there are secret plans afoot to give away American sovereignty, as the United States joins with Canada and Mexico in a North American Union similar to the European Union. You might even believe that there is an enormous "NAFTA Superhighway," running all the way from Mexico City to Toronto, in the works as we speak.
All of these ideas are false, but you might believe them if you watch prime-time cable news. We at the Media Matters Action Network have documented the spread of this kind of misinformation in our latest report, Fear & Loathing in Prime Time: Immigration Myths and Cable News, which focuses on the three cable hosts most responsible for spreading misinformation and fostering fear and anger about undocumented immigrants: Lou Dobbs, Bill O'Reilly, and Glenn Beck.
To know why the things being said on these three programs are so problematic, you need some important facts:
* Numerous studies demonstrate that immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans.
* Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for most federal benefits.
* Undocumented immigrants pay all kinds of taxes, including property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes, and payroll taxes.
* The number of voter fraud cases prosecuted in the United States is miniscule -- in the dozens -- and undocumented immigrants attempting to vote is a small proportion of that tiny number.
* A "North American Union" is not being planned.
* A "NAFTA Superhighway" running from Mexico to Canada is not in the works.
Unfortunately, these facts are insufficient to stop the likes of Dobbs, O'Reilly and Beck from repeating such misinformation. Indeed, these myths have found amplification on their shows; to take just one example, the three discussed the alleged connection between immigration and crime a total of nearly 200 times in 2007.
Some of what these hosts say on immigration sounds downright silly -- after all, who would believe that our government is putting in place a secret plan to construct a massive superhighway from Mexico to Canada? But people do believe it, in no small part because that idea, and others like it, get validated by Lou Dobbs and others.
The result is that the public debate over immigration is increasingly infected by hysteria and xenophobia.
***
DAR
Also note: Media Matters has an extensive study detailing the whole sordid mess (the above is just a little summary):
Fear & Loathing in Prime Time: Immigration Myths and Cable News
"Number one, the illegal aliens shouldn't be here. And number two, the culture from which they come is a lot more violent than the USA."
-- The O'Reilly Factor, January 15, 2007
There are many problems facing the United States today: a faltering economy, a health-care crisis, and the continuing war in Iraq, to name a few. But viewers of some of the most prominent cable news programs are presented a different reality in which one issue stands above all others: illegal immigration.
Media Matters Action Network undertook this study in order to document how immigration is discussed and debated on cable news. When it comes to immigration, cable news overflows not just with vitriolic rhetoric, but also with a series of myths that feed viewers' resentment and fears, fostering hostility toward immigrants.
We focus our analysis on a trio of cable commentators: Lou Dobbs, Bill O'Reilly, and Glenn Beck. While hosts on other cable programs regularly discuss illegal immigration (particularly on Fox News, where it is a frequent topic on Hannity & Colmes and Special Report with Brit Hume), these three are the most notable for a number of reasons. On their eponymous programs, Dobbs, O'Reilly, and Beck serve up a steady diet of fear, anger, and resentment on the topic of illegal immigration.
by: Paul Waldman
Wed May 21, 2008
If your only source of news is cable during prime time, you might be among those who believe that the U.S. government and American society are groaning under the weight of undocumented immigrants. You might believe that there is a terrifying crime wave attributable to illegal immigration. You might believe that undocumented immigrants feast on a cornucopia of social services, while avoiding paying taxes. You might also believe that they are voting illegally in large numbers, and that they bring with them all sorts of diseases. You might also believe that there are secret plans afoot to give away American sovereignty, as the United States joins with Canada and Mexico in a North American Union similar to the European Union. You might even believe that there is an enormous "NAFTA Superhighway," running all the way from Mexico City to Toronto, in the works as we speak.
All of these ideas are false, but you might believe them if you watch prime-time cable news. We at the Media Matters Action Network have documented the spread of this kind of misinformation in our latest report, Fear & Loathing in Prime Time: Immigration Myths and Cable News, which focuses on the three cable hosts most responsible for spreading misinformation and fostering fear and anger about undocumented immigrants: Lou Dobbs, Bill O'Reilly, and Glenn Beck.
To know why the things being said on these three programs are so problematic, you need some important facts:
* Numerous studies demonstrate that immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans.
* Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for most federal benefits.
* Undocumented immigrants pay all kinds of taxes, including property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes, and payroll taxes.
* The number of voter fraud cases prosecuted in the United States is miniscule -- in the dozens -- and undocumented immigrants attempting to vote is a small proportion of that tiny number.
* A "North American Union" is not being planned.
* A "NAFTA Superhighway" running from Mexico to Canada is not in the works.
Unfortunately, these facts are insufficient to stop the likes of Dobbs, O'Reilly and Beck from repeating such misinformation. Indeed, these myths have found amplification on their shows; to take just one example, the three discussed the alleged connection between immigration and crime a total of nearly 200 times in 2007.
Some of what these hosts say on immigration sounds downright silly -- after all, who would believe that our government is putting in place a secret plan to construct a massive superhighway from Mexico to Canada? But people do believe it, in no small part because that idea, and others like it, get validated by Lou Dobbs and others.
The result is that the public debate over immigration is increasingly infected by hysteria and xenophobia.
***
DAR
Also note: Media Matters has an extensive study detailing the whole sordid mess (the above is just a little summary):
Fear & Loathing in Prime Time: Immigration Myths and Cable News
"Number one, the illegal aliens shouldn't be here. And number two, the culture from which they come is a lot more violent than the USA."
-- The O'Reilly Factor, January 15, 2007
There are many problems facing the United States today: a faltering economy, a health-care crisis, and the continuing war in Iraq, to name a few. But viewers of some of the most prominent cable news programs are presented a different reality in which one issue stands above all others: illegal immigration.
Media Matters Action Network undertook this study in order to document how immigration is discussed and debated on cable news. When it comes to immigration, cable news overflows not just with vitriolic rhetoric, but also with a series of myths that feed viewers' resentment and fears, fostering hostility toward immigrants.
We focus our analysis on a trio of cable commentators: Lou Dobbs, Bill O'Reilly, and Glenn Beck. While hosts on other cable programs regularly discuss illegal immigration (particularly on Fox News, where it is a frequent topic on Hannity & Colmes and Special Report with Brit Hume), these three are the most notable for a number of reasons. On their eponymous programs, Dobbs, O'Reilly, and Beck serve up a steady diet of fear, anger, and resentment on the topic of illegal immigration.