There's a video on the Internet that was banned from the popular news aggregator, Digg.com, being deemed too risqué by the editors. This same video was banned from the Google-owned video sharing site, YouTube, also for the adult nature of its content. This doesn't seem like a big deal as plenty of video clips with adult content find their way on inappropriate web sites. It comes as no surprise that porn would be banned on web sites that are popular among minors, such as YouTube. Except, this particular video is a montage of 100% Fox News content as aired on Fox News to practically every household in America, during prime time.
This controversial video (as seen above) is a 'Fox News Porn' montage that was put together by an organization called Brave New Films whose stated mission is to get Fox to tone down the sexual nature of its "news" content. They've launched an Internet campaign that encourages the incensed public to write Fox News Network's sponsors. They hope to get the companies that run commercials on Fox to put pressure on the network by withdrawing valuable advertising dollars if the objectionable content continues.
Fox News has an über-conservative reputation, so what's with all the tits and ass (TnA), and naked teen girls? Here's what Fox had to say on the matter (no joke):
Can you quote us so not giving a shit?
I don't quite understand this dichotomy: Fox has supposedly become the Christian, GOP-backed, super-conservative, pro-Bush mouthpiece. These groups tend to be very anti-porn (generally speaking). Yet, Fox is now the sluttiest news network. Not that this effects me directly per se - I only turn on the TV when my Netflix DVDs arrive - but I would think Fox's audience would notice they are watching the most prurient network on TV, and that they would feel, I dunno, offended? I mean if porn supposedly pisses these folks off so much...
Brave New Films, the makers of the 'Fox News Porn' video, had this to say about their bold campaign:
Looks like we got to Fox this time, and it wasn't a debate about policy in Iran that did it, or a video displaying their racism, or even our coverage of their abject hypocrisy on environmental issues. With the Fox News Hounds' help, we found enough Fox lasciviousness for a whole porn site!!
Satire and parody aside, we think this is extremely objectionable, misogynistic content. We still don't understand how Fox is allowed to call this "news." So let's make this campaign count and hit Fox where it hurts -- their fair and balanced sheet.
Oh yeah, Digg.com was bombarded with a lot of backlash for banning the 'Fox News Porn' video. To the point where Digg's founder, Kevin, issued this statement as damage control a mere 24 hours after the ban and deletion of the video poster's account,
Hey everyone, we temporarily banned this last night. We flagged it as a potential TOS [term of service] violation, but after looking into it further we promptly unbanned it. Our fault. Digg on.
It appears this video is also back on YouTube, but you first have to confirm you're old enough to watch, and then there's a little warning message that cautions, "This video may not be suitable for minors."
The irony here is that network TV has an established reputation for censorship, whereas the Internet is looked upon as the Wild West of free speech, a sort of frontier, and final bastion where people can speak their minds. So what's going on here, did I just enter the Twilight Zone?
I'm very pro-porn (duh, right?), but I also believe there is a time and place for adult content. There's something unsavory about a ton of TnA on the news. It's distracting and unnecessary. Maybe, by using sex, Fox is trying to divert our attention from the real issues at hand like the Iraq War and the increasing disparity between the poor and the wealthy?
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