Oregon Disinformation Index: March 2023 Update

Now that we know Fox News isn't actually news, disinformation in Oregon takes a new shade

Mar 29, 2023

Wow. What a month for disinformation. Here in Oregon and across the country.

Probably the biggest developments came from the godfather of modern coordinated disinformation - Fox News.

If you haven’t heard, a company that makes voting machines called Dominion leveled a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit at Fox News. During the course of this lawsuit, a mountain of proof has been made public clearly demonstrating that Fox News is, in fact, not really news. They are cheerleaders and propagandists for wealthy right-wing aristocrats & authoritarians.

And if you look at this month’s data refresh for the Oregon Disinformation Index (or any previous iteration of data), one thing is clear. Fox News is the single largest channel of disinformation in Oregon, and it’s not even close.

**ODI exists right now as a Google Sheet. You can access it here.**

Fox News is a firehose. The next closest disinfo outlet is the mist setting on a spray bottle.

Among both groups we track in Oregon - light and heavy disinformation audiences - Fox News personalities typically dominate. And their domination extends from social media to podcasts to YouTube.

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So how do we even start to counter something as ubiquitous as Fox News?

Lol - you think I have the answer to that? Seriously, I don’t know how you defuse a disinformation bomb like Fox News.

It’s safe to say there’s no easy solution. I mean, few people that plug their brains into Fox News would even believe a fraction of the facts & proof being shown in the above-linked lawsuit.

But 23 year-old Katherine Abughazaleh might be onto something

Abughazaleh is a researcher with Media Matters. She “monitors conservatives for work, but makes fun of them for pleasure.”

She focuses mainly on Fox News headliner Tucker Carlson. Here’s what she does. She watches that goofy bastard lie each night on his show. She cuts it into clips. She adds commentary.

And conservatives absolutely hate her for it.

In addition to her YouTube channel, Abughazaleh is active on:

With hundreds of thousands of followers across those platforms, Abughazaleh’s reach is considerable. And her style is compelling. And her grit and determination in the face of regular threats and disgusting comments from the terminally online right-wing mobs is inspiring.

Maybe best of all, Abughazaleh makes content that is super shareable. She rightfully mocks assholes like Tucker Carlson, but she does so in service of exposing his, and his network’s, lies and deliberate disinformation campaigns.

So how easy is it to battle Fox News in Oregon?

Follow people like Abughazaleh. Share her content. Support groups and organizations like Media Matters. Fox News is a sophisticated cancer that has spread deeply through Oregon (and beyond).

It’s going to take time and grind to counter the damage they’ve done.

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