Speech references within the News Report
Fox News Host, Sean Hannity, says to John McCain, “Thirteen days ago, Senator, the president said he had no strategy. We're now back to degrade and destroy. It's not manageable. It's only a nine-nation coalition as of right now.”
Below are the speeches Hannity was referencing when he made this statement to John McCain.
At a press conference on August 28, 2014, President Obama said, “We don’t have a strategy yet” in regards to the plans of the U.S. military in taking action against ISIS in Syria (Khimm, 2014).
Analysis: By referencing these two contradicting quotes at the beginning of the interview with Sen. McCain, the news source is likely framing the information to show the lack of consistency in the President’s plans for combatting against ISIS.
Facts
Fact #1: "The Iraqis were prepared to have a residual force left behind" ("Sen. McCain responds," 2014).
True: Lt. Gen. Michael Barbero said, “We were wrong by not making a stronger case and insisting that we needed to stay in some numbers to continue to train, advise and develop this unfinished force... The United States was wrong to pull all its troops out of the country, with no residual force left behind to support the Iraqi army" (Engel & Angerer, 2014). The Iraqi soldiers now must take on the militants of ISIS alone, along with facing the sting of defeat on the battlefield (Engel & Angerer, 2014).
Fact #2: "We now know that ISIS controls a landmass about the size of Belgium" ("Sen. McCain responds," 2014).
Mostly True: According to an article put out by the Atlantic Media Company, the approximate size of the land controlled by ISIS varies widely in reports: "from 12,000 square miles—'an area the size of Belgium,' per The Wall Street Journal—to 35,000 square miles, or 'an area the size of Jordan,' as George Packer wrote this week in The New Yorker" (Gilsinan, 2014).
Fact #3: "Do you know of any public statement the president made at the time or since that he wanted to leave any troops behind? You will not find that because he didn't. In fact, he bragged about the fact that everybody was out" ("Sen. McCain responds," 2014).
Mostly True: Martha Raddatz, ABC's chief global affairs correspondent, said the Obama administration originally "wanted 10,000 troops to remain in Iraq -- not combat troops, but military advisers, special operations forces, to watch the counterterrorism effort." At first, "the Obama administration envisioned leaving 10,000 troops in Iraq past the Dec. 31, 2011, pullout of forces", according to an online article on Pundit Fact. However, "that number went down to about 5,000 before negotiations stalled amid a legal snare over immunity of American forces in Iraqi courts" (Sanders, 2014).
Fact #4: "You know Mr. Baghdadi, their leader, when he left Camp Bucca, our prison in Iraq, said See you in New York… and we’ll raise the flag of Islam in your White House" ("Sen. McCain responds," 2014).
Mostly True: Both Sen. McCain and Sean Hannity contribute to this last fact, which is where the biggest issue derives from. McCain quotes Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS’s leader, but does not give his exact wording, which was in fact, “I’ll see you guys in New York” (Stakelbeck, 2014). Moreover, Sean Hannity adds to McCains quote, saying, “and we’ll raise the flag of Islam in your White House.” However, this quote was not spoken by Baghdadi, but instead ISIS spokesman, Abu Mosa. Mosa told VICE News in a video interview, “We will raise the flag of Allah in the White House” (Ernst, 2014).
SMELL Test
Source: FOX Television Host Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity currently serves as a host of FOX News Channel. He has conducted interviews with many key newsmakers and political figures throughout his career. Hannity joined the network in 1996, making his expertise in politics high (Sean Hannity).His proximity on the topic of ISIS is also medium because he has been following the story. However, his independence is somewhat limited by the producers and merits of FOX News Channel.
Source: John McCain
McCain serves as the Republican Senator for Arizona. McCain provides high expertise in terms of politics and ISIS, as well as high proximity after having followed and covered the events on numerous occasions. By contrast, his independence is restricted by his political position.
Source - President Barak Obama
President Obama has high experience and proximity concerning ISIS, however his political position confines his independence on the subject because he is restricted from disclosing all information to the general public.
Motive - Content designed to persuade (McManus, 2012).
Principled Persuasion – Focuses on relevant facts; takes the form as a civilized, respectful debate in search of a particular view on the subject.
“And I ask you, if the president had kept his four-point strategy in place, which George Bush recommended, would we even be in the position where all those cities that Americans fought and died for were gone?” ("Sen. McCain responds", 2014).
This quote by McCain portrays content designed to persuade because he remains focused on the facts relevant to his argument, but clearly demonstrates his point of view as he leans towards the plan Bush created rather than the plan Obama went with.
Evidence – Evidence was provided with facts that turned out to mostly true for the majority of the segment. The claims being made were supported with quotes from political speeches, however some content was misleading. John McCain managed to avoid some of the specific questions asked by Sean Hannity while adding other information in his favor as a result.
Logic - There are several logical fallacies in this report. The first is an overgeneralization made by John McCain.
McCain said, “By the way, additionally, [Obama] said America is safer. I don't know any human being that agrees with that" ("Sen. McCain responds," 2014).
By saying that he does not know of any human being that agrees with a statement made by President Obama is a broad conclusion. Broad conclusions need to be backed up with more evidence, which he did not bring to the table (McManus, 2012).
Later on, McCain points out an inappropriate comparison made by the president in another report.
McCain said, “Now we face this ISIS, which is larger than the state of Indiana. And by the way, he compares ISIS to Yemen and Somalia. There's no comparison, Sean, between those -- the comparable -- comparability between the threats there" ("Sen. McCain responds," 2014).
According to McCain, this statement made by the president is misleading and inaccurate.
Left Out - With John McCain being a member of the Republican party and Sean Hannity hosting from a conservative political background, there is a certainly a bias in this report. Therefore, what is missing in this report is an opposing viewpoint. Information that did not support their argument was not included in order to strengthen their claims.
FOX Video #2: Sen. Marco Rubio: 'The goal here is to defeat ISIL'
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| Picture retrieved from: http://twt-thumbs.washtimes.com/media/image/2014/12/21/rubio-point_c0-217-5184-3238_s561x327.jpg?bdd6e722bc732344245ff05c12322508da41adf1 Video available at: http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2015/02/11/sen-marco-rubio-goal-here-is-to-defeat-isil/ |
Facts
Fact #1: "Now, reports that ISIS proposed a prisoner swap for Kayla are raising new questions over whether the president's release of five Taliban generals in exchange for suspected Army deserter Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl set a bad precedent" ("Sen. Marco Rubio," 2015).
True - After five Taliban generals were released in exchange for Sergeant Bergdahl in May 2014, numerous reports were given claiming the Obama administration had made an error in judgment, setting the precedent that if ISIS kidnaps a Western person, they will get a ransom in return. Then, when Kayla Mueller was taken earlier this year, the same questions were in fact raised again in various news reports (Nowicki, 2015).
Fact #2: "Let's talk about the AUMF, the Authorization for Use of Military Force. Both parties have been pressing for a new one of these. We had one before we went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq...Both parties are saying we need a new [AUMF] because that one doesn't really apply to the battle we're now fighting" ("Sen. Marco Rubio," 2015).
True - The congress recently received a proposal for a new AUMF that would better apply to our current situation with ISIS. Obama explained in a letter to Congress that the new draft resolution would give special forces operations authority to “take military action against ISIL leadership" (Acosta, 2015). It appears this new draft would be more pleasing to the two parties involved.
Fact #3: "Now, Senator Rand Paul has come out on the record and said he would oppose any AUMF that doesn't have geographic limits, because he thinks then we could have somebody expand this to, "Well, we're going to go bomb Saudi Arabia," because we think they fall within the definition of what this authorization provides" ("Sen. Marco Rubio," 2015).
True - Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said he
wants to severely limit the use of military force against ISIS as well as
wanting to formally declare war against the Islamic terrorist group (Peters, 2014).
Fact #4: "Secretary Kerry suggested
that this March deadline we have to reach a deal with the Iranians or we're
going to have sanctions come out of the U.S. Congress is real. He can't see
that deadline being extended" ("Sen. Marco Rubio," 2015).
True - Secretary of State John F. Kerry created a self-imposed deadline that the major points of agreement would have to be reached by late March. He said in an interview broadcast February 8, 2015 that it would be “impossible to extend nuclear negotiations with Iran if an agreement on fundamental principles is not reached in the coming weeks" (Morello, 2015).
SMELL Test
Source: Megyn Kelly
Kelly is the anchor of FOX
News Channel’s segment, “The Kelly File” (Megyn
Kelly). Her show spotlights in-depth
investigative reports and interviews, making her skills and expertise in
politics high, as well as her knowledge on ISIS. Her independence from the
topic is somewhat restricted by her role on television, but she is still able
to provide a platform to discuss developing angles as events unfold. Kelly’s
proximity is medium because she is following the story from an investigative
stance.
Source: Marco Rubio
Rubio is the junior
US Republican Senator from Florida and a member of The Foreign Relations
Committee (Marco
Rubio Biography). His expertise on ISIS is high, as well as his proximity on the
topic. However, Rubio’s position on ISIS and the Obama administration has
flip-flopped back and forth numerous times. His political position limits his
independence.
Motive - The
motive of this news segment is content designed to inform (McManus, 2012). The sources make
sure to stress the facts and are faithful to the evidence they provide. The
presentation remains unemotional, even though they are discussing what most
people view as an emotional topic, and no action is called for.
Evidence - FOX’s facts were all true and backed up. They cited where they
obtained their information and provided proof for the claims they made.
Logic - During
Marco Rubio’s interview, several overgeneralizations are made. When a broad
conclusion is made, more evidence is required to back it up (McManus, 2012).
“The only reason why you
develop long-range rockets is to put a nuclear warhead on it and that it has
completely been untouched in these negotiations"
Left Out - The
report only offers one viewpoint. In order for this story to be completely
accurate, a second source with a different opinion would need to be
interviewed.
FOX Video #3: Congress reacts to ISIS beheading Japanese hostage
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| Picture retrieved from: http://a57.foxnews.com/global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/fn2/video/0/0/020115_smf_royce_640.jpg Video available at: http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2015/02/02/congress-reacts-to-isis-beheading-japanese-hostage-obama-budget-faces-gop/ |
Facts
Fact #1: "Last year ISIS raised tens of millions of dollars by extorting ransom. And in this particular case [the lives of two Japanese journalists] the original request was for -- or demand -- was for $200 million" ("Congress reacts to ISIS," 2015).
True - According to an article released on Oct. 23, 2014, David Cohen, the Treasury Department’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said, “the group has netted approximately $20 million in ransom payments this year” (LoGiurato, 2014). Cohen also said that the terrorist group has raised money through local extortion and crime (LoGiurato, 2014).
In addition, it is also true that ISIS imposed a $200 million ransom
for the lives of the two Japanese
journalists for a period of 72-hours, according to ABC News (Ross, Meek, & Kreider, 2015).
Fact #2: "And in this case, the five that were turned over, two of them were top not just Taliban fighters but had high-level connections to Al Qaeda" ("Congress reacts to ISIS," 2015).
Mostly True - Most of the five who were captured and then later released held mid- to high- level positions with the Taliban in the early days of the war in Afghanistan. Two did in fact have high- level connections to Al Qaeda. CNN reported that “one of the men was alleged to have been ‘directly associated’ with Osama bin Laden, while another had helped Al Qaeda members escape into Pakistan” (Starr, 2015).
Fact #3: “One of them has been caught now trying to enlist back into the fight” ("Congress reacts to ISIS," 2015).
Mostly True - The only other report, other than that of FOX News, said that one of the Taliban prisoners exchanged was “suspected of” trying to engage in militant activity. According to CNN, “an ongoing U.S. intelligence program found evidence in recent months that one of them has ‘reached out’ to try to encourage militant activity” (Starr, 2015). That is as far as evidence on this case goes.
Fact #4: “Well, coalition forces did finally beat back ISIS in the key border town of Kobani. You know, it reportedly took 75 percent of all the air strikes launched there so far to accomplish it. And despite that one glimmer of hope, the Islamic state vows to recapture the town as it scores successes elsewhere” ("Congress reacts to ISIS," 2015).
True - Newsmax.com produced an article that confirms every claim Eric Shawn makes. According to a clip released by the pro-ISIS News Agency, “two fighters said the airstrikes by the U.S.- led coalition were the main reason why ISIS fighters were forced to withdraw from Kobani” ("ISIS Admits Defeat", 2015). Since then, ISIS admitted defeat in Kobani but “vowed to attack the town again” ("ISIS Admits Defeat," 2015).
SMELL Test
Source: Maria Bartiromo
Bartiromo is an anchor and host for FOX News Channel. She specializes in business and economy (Maria Bartiromo Personality Bio). This gives her low expertise on the topic of ISIS, as well as low independence from the subject because she works for FOX News Channel. However, proximity in ISIS is medium because she has been following the story.
Source: Ed Royce
Royce
is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. A few of his top
commitments in Congress are: “protecting our homeland and fighting crime, as
well as supporting victims of crime” (U.S.
Representative Ed Royce). Royce has high expertise and proximity in
ISIS, but his independence remains low considering his political position.
Source: Eric Shawn
Shawn is FOX News Channel’s Senior Correspondent (Eric Shawn). Shawn regularly reports from the United Nations, giving him high proximity to ISIS. His expertise in reporting politics and terrorism is high. However, his role as a FOX News personality gives him low independence.
Motive - The motivation behind this report is content designed to inform (McManus, 2012). The facts and observations are stressed and the sources do a good job at explaining how they know what they know. The sources of this report carefully provide their own indicating where they got their evidence.
Evidence – FOX provides videotapes
throughout the report, giving different viewpoints to the issue. The sources in
the videos are all high in the realm of politics, giving credibility and depth
to the story.
Logic - This report provides an example of an
overgeneralization logical fallacy.
There is not any solid evidence given before or
after this statement that makes this conclusion true (McManus, 2012). No report was given on a
leader of ISIS declaring this message. The source in the news report used his
assumption as evidence, which is unacceptable.
Left Out - There is very little context given for the
videos shown in the report. The viewers not familiar with the leaders, issues
or content of the video clips have the right to be given more background of the
evidence FOX is providing.
Conclusion
Taking everything into account, FOX News Media tends to be a reliable source for accurate information. Most of the facts analyzed in this project portrayed truth, whether completely true, mostly true, or somewhat true. The sources FOX News Media use can typically always be verified as having high proximity and expertise, but regularly lack independence. This is often the cause for a news outlet to loose credibility, because low independence usually proves sources to be biased. However, in these reports, the sources were generally only biased against the Islamic State, but the Islamic State is a terrorist group. Overall, FOX News can be trusted as a reliable news source, and viewers can expect honest information most of the time.
Bibliography
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