I wasn’t surprised by the claims in David Folkenflik’s new book that Fox News hires PR people to sock puppet for the news channel in anti-Fox blog posts. That’s a time-honored Republican Party tactic—ever notice the conservative commenters who only show up on Slog during election seasons? They’re probably getting paid real American money—well, real American pocket change—to advocate and concern-troll for their causes.
But now I’m wondering if Fox News ever sock-puppets itself. Fox reporter Sally Kohn yesterday published an article on the Fox News site that was given the scary headline of “I was an ObamaCare guinea pig.” But the article itself turned out to be unabashedly pro-Obamacare. Here are the first two sentences:
I signed up. I saved. And so will millions of Americans.
Honestly, I couldn’t wait to sign up for ObamaCare — not because I talk about it on television, but because I’m tired of being ripped off by my insurance company.
The comment thread, predictably, has turned into a massacre:
Sally Khon, only a LIB can write an article that makes Obamacare look like it is all roses and no problems, but I can see through the LIES that have been written here, Only a LIB can like a GOVT debacle of a program, and twist the and spin the actual truth.
Skip the guinea,,, its just pig for you sally.
Sally is yet another “liberated” woman that enjoys a liberal government controlling majot aspects of her life. Oh, Sally. Which party didn’t want women to even get the vote? Hypocrite.
Apparently one Fox news reporter looking for a job on MSNBC figured out a way past the interview process. Congrats Sally!
she’s nothing but a low life shill for the wel.fare pi.mp in the WH — not to mention she’s a hag!
So do Fox News sock puppets troll Fox News comment threads? Or have they trained their readers to do that for them?