Fox News voted scariest organization in America

Almost three million FoxNews viewers attended Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally in Aug. 2010.

This is the polling question we asked readers to respond to last week:

WHAT INDIVIDUAL OR ORGANIZATION WENT TO THE GREATEST LENGTHS TO SCARE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN 2010? VOTE FOR YOUR CHOICE. THE WINNER WILL BE DECLARED "FEAR HERO 2010" ON DEC 31ST AT OUR ANNUAL FUNDRAISING BALL FOR DEFENSE INDUSTRY LOBBYISTS.

Friends of the United States Department of Fear have spoken. The scariest "person or organization" of 2010 was Fox News. The scariest person? That would be Glenn Beck, the prominent Fox News announcer.  In September 2010 Glenn led the massive "Restoring Honor" rally on the Mall in Washington D.C..  DoF analysts estimate that the event was attended by 2.7 million Americans.

Sec Fear, interviewed Tuesday by Fox News about the results, said, "We're pleased with the outcome of our New Year's poll, but frankly, we aren't surprised.  DoF has always considered your network a reliable partner in fear."

We asked Dr. Rebecca Wolf, Undersecretary for Community Affairs at DoF, to analyze the continued success of Fox News.  Dr. Wolf said,  "What they (Fox) understand is wisdom of our department's moto Timendi causa est nescire (ignorance causes fear)."

Dr. Wolf noted that a recent University of Maryland study ("Misinformation and the 2010 Election") had documented the cable network's greater success at spreading misinformation relative to other American  news organizations.

According to the 2010 study, those who watched Fox News almost daily were significantly more likely than those who never watched it to be ignorant about various political issues.   For example, the study found Fox News viewers to be more likely than other American news consumers to believe that:

• most economists estimate the stimulus caused job losses (12 points more likely) 
• most economists have estimated the health care law will worsen the deficit (31 points)
• the economy is getting worse (26 points) 
• most scientists do not agree that climate change is occurring (30 points)
• the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts (14 points) 
• their own income taxes have gone up (14 points) 
• the auto bailout only occurred under Obama (13 points) 
• when TARP came up for a vote most Republicans opposed it (12 points) 
• and that it is not clear that Obama was born in the United States (31 points)

The authors of the Maryland study observed, "These effects increased incrementally with increasing levels of exposure and all were statistically significant. The effect was also not simply a function of partisan bias, as people who voted Democratic and watched Fox News were also more likely to have such misinformation than those who did not watch it--though by a lesser margin than those who voted Republican."

DoF extends its heartfelt congratulates to Glenn, Sarah, Sean, Bill and all our friends at Fox News for making the American public more ignorant, and therefore, more afraid in 2010.   We urge our readers to join us in spreading the word about the "fear heroes" of Fox News in the New Year.