你应该已经注意到，美国许多报道指责其他国家或国际组织应对新冠疫情不力，淡化病毒风险，其实这些报道都来自于同一家媒体——福克斯新闻网。You’ve probably noticed that many clips coming out of the United States criticizing countries or organizations for their COVID-19 response, or playing down the threat of the virus, come from one place – Fox News. 如果你想要分清这些视频中的恶言、谎话，你必须要了解背后的缘由。And to understand the venom and frequent falsehoods in the clips that are shared around the world, it’s important to understand the context. 和其他电视台相比，福克斯的风格的确大不相同。那它到底是什么路数呢？Other U.S. channels haven’t followed this pattern, so what’s different about Fox? 呃，福克斯的名字可能听上去有歧义——它真的是一个新闻频道吗？并不是。那它是专门讲狐狸的吗？肯定不是啊！Well, the name is a little misleading - is it really a news channel? Not really. Is it really about foxes? No. 福克斯确实有专业客观的记者，但近年来，很多优秀的新闻记者要么遭到排挤，要么已经跳槽。而福克斯现在更偏好肖恩·汉尼提和劳拉·英格拉汉姆这种敢于挑战底线、能拉高收视率的明星主播。Fox does have some straight news reporters, but most have been sidelined from primetime or jumped ship in recent years in favor of big personalities like Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham who aren’t afraid to push the boundaries of reality to keep the ratings up. 福克斯其实是一个观点输出型的电视台。这也没什么，但是观众最好能明白这些观点背后的缘由。It’s really an opinion channel. And that’s fine, so long as viewers know where the points of view are coming from. 福克斯新闻台以服务美国右翼势力为宗旨，观众很难分清它的报道到底是新闻还是娱乐。Fox has always blurred the lines between news and entertainment, serving as a mouthpiece for right-wing causes and conservative money. 但在特朗普时代，它几乎一直跟随着总统的步伐，至少自他当选以来是这样，起初还不太明显，后来就不假思索的附和总统的言论。他们就这样相互利用。But, in the age of Trump it’s almost unhaltingly followed the direction of the president — at least since his election, initially it wasn’t so keen — echoing his words without question or putting words in his mouth. It’s a circular relationship. 这显然不是在进行客观报道，而是公开表明自己的政治立场，并为其站台。This isn’t objective reporting, it’s taking sides, expressing a view and amplifying that opinion. 在美国这样一个政治两极分化的国家，这是一种非常成功的商业模式。And in a politically polarized country like the United States, that’s been a pretty effective business model. 自2002年以来，福克斯一直是美国收视率最高的有线电视新闻网。自特朗普参选以来，福克斯收视飙升，CNN等其他电视台收视率也大涨。Fox has been the most-watched cable news network in the US since 2002, and viewership has surged, as with others, like CNN, since Trump joined the political fray. 特朗普的出现大大拉高了收视率，当然电视台对他也有很大助益。The president has been great for ratings, and TV has been great for him. 在2016年竞选期间，特朗普获得的媒体曝光价值达到20亿美元。His free media coverage during the 2016 campaign has been valued at two billion U.S. dollars. 其实福克斯的宣传模式与特朗普的竞选策略没有本质区别——都是利用观众或选民的偏见与恐惧，扮演反对精英阶层的角色，却让美国最富有的人变得更富有。In fact, the Fox model is not that different from Trump’s strategy — appeal to prejudices or fears of viewers or voters, act as outsiders railing against the elites, to make the most wealthy in America even richer. 这么说可能有点愤世嫉俗，但看看下面的证据你就明白了。That might sound overly cynical, but look at the evidence. 福克斯的受众与特朗普的选民群体高度重合——根据尼尔森的数据，70%的福克斯观众没有大学学历，并且白人占绝大部分。而在2016年的总统大选中，教育程度的高低对选举结果有明显的影响。皮尤研究中心的数据显示，67%支持特朗普的选民，是没有大学学历的白人。Their viewers and voters are from the same demographics — 70 percent of Fox viewers are not college graduates, according to Nielsen data, and they are overwhelmingly white. And education was a clear dividing line in the 2016 presidential election. 67 percent of white voters without a college degree backed Trump, according to Pew. 福克斯通过迎合观众的偏见来吸引用户，进而吸引广告商。福克斯新闻网的母公司福克斯公司在二月份公布，去年四季度收入高达37.8亿美元。Fox attracts viewers with appeals to base instincts, and in turn that attracts advertisers. Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, reported quarterly revenues of 3.78 billion U.S. dollars in February. 为了维持高收视率和吸引源源不断的投资，主播们并不采取公平客观的方式报道，而是进行观点输出式的报道。And in order to keep ratings high and money flowing in, the anchors don’t exactly take the fair and balanced approach — it’s opinion presented as news. 他们也不在乎表达的是不是他们的真实观点…However, it’s even their real opinion… 2019年，汉尼提以4000万美元的高薪主持《肖恩·汉尼提秀》和一个福克斯的电台节目，却并没有进行专业的新闻报道，只是为了娱乐大众。Hannity was paid around 40 million U.S. dollars in 2019 for hosting a TV show and a radio show… not to break stories, but to entertain. 在新冠疫情全球暴发的时期，这种不严谨的娱乐化报道可能带来严重后果。And in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, entertainment masquerading as news can be dangerous. 福克斯新闻网极力淡化新冠病毒的危险，表示并不比流感更严重，而福克斯母公司却命令自己的员工呆在家里。这是多么的讽刺。While downplaying the virus and warning that it was no worse than the flu, Fox Corporation was ordering its own employees to stay at home. That’s real cynicism. 福克斯在美国内部播下了分裂的种子，而在新冠疫情美国暴发之际，它更是应和总统的观点，甩锅给他国，也加大了美国和其他国家的裂痕。Fox sows division - certainly within the United States, but also, particularly now, between the United States and other countries — by repeating the talking points and blame-shifting that the president engages in. 但我们应该搞清福克斯新闻的本质，了解它的受众群体。But we have to remember what Fox is and who it’s talking to. 福克斯新闻网与总统、支持者的关系确实赋予了它一定的影响力。但终究只是为了娱乐大众。娱乐是为了利益。福克斯母公司严肃应对新冠疫情，而福克斯新闻却告诉观众一点儿也不严重。那么，我们应该把这个电视台的报道当回事儿吗?Its relationship with the president and his supporters does give it a certain influence. But it’s entertainment. Entertainment for profit. Fox Corporation took COVID-19 seriously, as Fox News said its viewers shouldn’t. So, should anyone take what the channel says seriously?