>You can buy this or not, but I wrote that with the awareness that this applies to both sides.

I can somewhat see your attempt at this in your original comment, but it was very off the mark. To be absolutely clear here and because I don't see myself replying further: Representing a dissenting viewpoint would mean showing multiple perspectives on an issue instead of just a single "narrative". This means for example, that for Fox to represent a dissenting viewpoint about anti-vaxxers, they would need to include arguments in favor of vaccination, the opposite is true for CNN or MSNBC. The existence of outlets containing views you disagree with do not count as representing a popular dissenting view.

This is compounded even further by the fact that basically all mainstream American media outlets just report the same news they get from the AP now. So even if Fox or CNN did what I described, it would still fall short because there is a centralized narrative hidden in the selective reporting of the AP. So not only is mainstream news filtered through the lense of the AP, it's also filtered through their billionaire owners and finally to appease the lemmings, some talking heads give their (bad) opinion on what remains to add some political flair to it. This bullshit is what drives people to alternative media.

> On the topic of buying stuff, sorry, your anecdote of being schooled by clever other-siders doesn't mean to me you get to know 100% that criticism of Fox News is 'an easy "tell" that [the critic is] probably an out of touch liberal "elite" with an ego that probably needs some deflating (at least when it comes to politics).'. Where's that humility in that sentence, with you being so cocksure that you get it and I don't? You even said "anecdote", just because some smart Fox News viewers convinced you they're not being brainwashed, it doesn't mean the majority of FN viewers them are that clever and un-brainwashed - here I go again saying I'm not buying your shit, like I know better, right?

Quite a bit to unpack here huh ;)

I'll admit my original choice of words may have been poor, I considered your original take to be ridiculously bad and felt that it was quite self evident, causing me to leave out a lot of details I thought you would notice. I never considered it humble, only my self deprecating anecdote. That doesn't mean I think anything I said was wrong, just that I didn't do a good enough job at making it not seem like an attack and devolving into a flame war (too late now). I'm going to break down why I've assigned you to the category of "out of touch liberal 'elite'" to maybe clear things up before exiting:

* To assume that dissent == Fox News (aka the outlet you disagree with) is silly. Someone who likes Fox could make the same argument about CNN being dissent, it is at it's root a fallacy because it assumes dissent just means anything counter to what you subjectively consider the truth

* The weirdly combative statement (sarcastic self-deprecation?) about being called a "commie-lib" was both unessesary and felt like you were waving a flag no one asked to see

* Offering up examples where "leftist media" got it wrong to demonstrate a degree of impartiality but failing to recognize that you were once again associating them with a truth/narrative that qualifies opposing arguments on alternative mainstream outlets as dissent.

* Further demonstration that your red blue glasses blinded you to what was actually being proposed you literally allude to desiring the very premise of OPs comment: "It'd be great if people who listened to Fox News could be asked to listen to someone who challenges their assertions", it goes both ways though

* Your replies further cemented my image of you by both suggesting my argument is "both-sideism" a misapplied meme often parroted by cult-like radicals (on both sides ironically) but also by suggesting that the people I've spoken too watch Fox News when the point I was trying to make was that the image of each side that the mainstream media paints is radically different than reality. I'll admit the fact that you have misunderstood this key point regardless of if you agree fills me with a bit of rage. The amount of people actually watching any "mainstream" outlet these days is a rapidly decreasing minority, if you want to know what they actually think, then don't get it from Fox News, because like you, most on the right also think it's garbage, funny how that works huh?