Have you ever wondered about the differences between CNN and Fox News? Sure, CNN tries to be entertaining, but they’re mostly a bunch of news-gathering nerds. Meanwhile, Fox News has Tucker Carlson, who’s basically the ruler of the Republican Party. The House majority leader himself had to kiss the ring of this unelected leader! And don’t forget the whole ecosystem of far-right sites and social networks that eagerly await Carlson’s every word. Talk about being popular!

But popularity can be dangerous, especially when someone like Carlson is spitting out conspiracies and xenophobic nonsense on a nightly basis. His power lies in repetition, indoctrinating his fans and shielding them from the actual truth. It’s like a superpower, only way less cool. And according to Bruce Bartlett, who served under Reagan and Bush Sr., Fox News is less of a news source and more of a “brainwashing operation.” At the same time, CNN’s Don Lemon calls them out for what they really are: a propaganda network. Harsh, but true.

Speaking of truth, did you hear about Dominion Voting Systems’ legal smackdown of Fox News? Apparently, they provided so much evidence of the network spreading lies about their voting machines that Fox had to fork over a whopping $787.5 million. In a weird way, it’s kind of impressive that cable news has that much power to ruin a company’s reputation. Maybe cable news should stick to reporting on kittens stuck in trees, at least until they can be trusted to not ruin people’s lives.

Serious News: nytimes