No one has ever accused Fox News of being modest and low-key. When they do something, they go all the way. They have a long history of larding up their "news" coverage with sex, violence, fear and terror, but this one really takes the cake.
"Scientist: Terrorists May Use Robots in Future Attacks" screams the headline on one web story. And just to be sure the reader is good and scared, the story begins, "Terrorist groups may soon deploy killer robots against unsuspecting civilians, a British researcher warned Wednesday."
That definitely sounds familiar. Yep, it's the backbone of what seems like every other science-fiction story ever written. Just for good measure, the story includes a photo of a Dalek, a robotic monster from the British television series Doctor Who that goes around grating "Exterminate!" just before killing its victim.
Of course, anyone who takes a moment to read the press release upon which the story was based sees something very different. Professor Noel Sharkey is actually warning of the proliferation of "dumb" robots being used in combat, and the terrorist bit was a what-if tossed out as an afterthought. But naturally Fox seized on just that part of the release and puffed it up to terrifying proportions, unleashing it on the public as a clear and present danger.
As the propaganda arm of the Republican Party, Fox has a long history of doing stuff like this, but this one is just plain ridiculous. It goes so far it becomes something out of the Weekly World News. (In fact, my all-time favorite supermarket tabloid ran a story remarkably along these lines back in 2003.)
Next thing you know, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity will be demanding pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the planet Skaro just in case those killer robots make their way to Earth.
"Scientist: Terrorists May Use Robots in Future Attacks" screams the headline on one web story. And just to be sure the reader is good and scared, the story begins, "Terrorist groups may soon deploy killer robots against unsuspecting civilians, a British researcher warned Wednesday."
That definitely sounds familiar. Yep, it's the backbone of what seems like every other science-fiction story ever written. Just for good measure, the story includes a photo of a Dalek, a robotic monster from the British television series Doctor Who that goes around grating "Exterminate!" just before killing its victim.
Of course, anyone who takes a moment to read the press release upon which the story was based sees something very different. Professor Noel Sharkey is actually warning of the proliferation of "dumb" robots being used in combat, and the terrorist bit was a what-if tossed out as an afterthought. But naturally Fox seized on just that part of the release and puffed it up to terrifying proportions, unleashing it on the public as a clear and present danger.
As the propaganda arm of the Republican Party, Fox has a long history of doing stuff like this, but this one is just plain ridiculous. It goes so far it becomes something out of the Weekly World News. (In fact, my all-time favorite supermarket tabloid ran a story remarkably along these lines back in 2003.)
Next thing you know, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity will be demanding pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the planet Skaro just in case those killer robots make their way to Earth.
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