June 20, 2025

America Hijacked: How They Took Our Reality

America Hijacked: How They Took Our Reality
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America Hijacked: How They Took Our Reality

Fox News. Talk radio. Sinclair. This episode breaks down how decades of right-wing media didn’t just divide America — it reprogrammed it. Let’s unpack it.

Welcome to this episode of Bigger Table, where host Abby Englewood delves into the powerful forces reshaping American society through media manipulation. We begin with an exploration of Fox News' impact on politics and culture, tracing its rise since 1996. Uncover how its strategy of repeated disinformation has not only dominated cable news but also influenced national sentiment, contributing to pivotal moments like the Iraq War and the 2020 election fallout.

Next, we examine Sinclair Broadcasting Group, illustrating how trusted local news can mask right-wing propaganda. By owning nearly 200 stations across the U.S., Sinclair reaches 40% of households, embedding their partisan narratives into the fabric of American news consumption, shifting perceptions on issues from misinformation about vaccines to critical race theory.

The conversation turns to the historical roots sown by talk radio pioneers like Rush Limbaugh, who carved a path for current talk radio giants. This segment dives into how radio broadcasts amplified anger and division, creating what is known today as the 'angry uncle effect', which reverberates in political discourse.

Discover the devastating effects of iconic disinformation moments perpetuated by Fox News, from the fabricated 'Bowling Green Massacre' to the baseless COVID vaccine fears. Each story illustrates how far-reaching these falsehoods have been in shaping public opinion and policy.

Finally, we discuss solutions on how to rebuild trust and truth in media by turning off biased outlets, supporting grounded journalism, and fostering media literacy. Join us as we explore steps towards a collective understanding and a mission to build a bigger table — a symbol of inclusivity and shared reality.

00:06 - Introduction to Bigger Table

00:57 - The Rise of Fox News

03:42 - Sinclair Broadcasting's Influence

05:27 - Talk Radio's Anger Machine

07:15 - Fox's Greatest Hits

09:12 - The Alternate Reality Economy

10:31 - Strategies for Rebuilding

WEBVTT

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For 30 years, the truth has been under attack, and we're living the fallout.

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You're listening to Bigger Table, where more chairs, fewer walls,

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and greater progress aren't just a slogan.

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They're the mission. Let's get into it.

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Welcome to today's episode, where we ask some of the most pressing questions

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on many Americans' minds. What's happening to America?

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How did we get to a place where two completely different realities clash?

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And why do people we care about believe things that seem frankly insane?

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Stick around, because the story behind this isn't only eye-opening,

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it's crucial if we want to understand how we got here and where we might go next.

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I'm your host, Abby Englewood, and today we're diving deep into the media machine

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that's rewiring half the nation's brain.

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We'll explore how decades of strategic disinformation have reshaped politics,

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culture, and our understanding of truth.

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Part 1. The Rise of Fox News.

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It all started with a simple yet powerful goal.

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Dominate cable news. In 1996, Rupert Murdoch launched Fox News Channel.

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But this wasn't just about ratings. No, it was about power.

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Roger Ailes, a veteran media advisor to Nixon and Reagan, understood this better

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than anyone. His approach?

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Repeat enough, and people will believe anything.

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That cynical idea formed the backbone of Fox's strategy.

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Fox News wasn't designed to inform so much as to affirm.

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Ailes built a narrative factory, wrapping right-wing grievance,

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nationalism, and conspiracy in the comforting glow of patriotic backdrops and

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familiar faces like Hannity, Carlson, and Ducey.

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The signature Fox recipe? Make truth subjective, frame issues as us versus them,

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and keep viewers angry, afraid, and addicted.

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Look no further than the run-up to the 2003 Iraq War.

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Fox News echoed and amplified false claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of

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mass destruction and was involved in 9-11.

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According to a University of Maryland study, 67% of Fox viewers believed that

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lie, far higher than the viewers of any other network. The war was greenlit.

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Thousands died and Fox never apologized. They just moved on.

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Fast forward to 2020. Fox faced a critical choice.

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Tell the truth about Biden's victory or push the lie that Trump's win was stolen. They chose the lie.

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Hosts like Tucker Carlson publicly discredited the election results,

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even though internal Fox texts revealed they knew the claims were false.

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However, on air, this big lie fueled distrust and paved the way for January 6th.

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Fox paid nearly $800 million in damages to Dominion voting systems,

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but the damage to democracy lingers.

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And then there's Tucker Carlson's legacy, pushing white nationalist ideas like

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the Great Replacement Theory, downplaying COVID, and calling January 6th a peaceful protest.

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His show was cited repeatedly by white supremacists and extremists.

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Fox fired him not for racism, but because his divisiveness cost them advertisers.

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What started as a cable network became the Republican Party's central nervous system.

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Its DNA, attack, distract, deny, runs through school boards,

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congressional speeches, and millions who reject climate science and believe

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conspiracy theories. The consequence?

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Facts don't matter. Volume and loyalty do.

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And anyone challenging that distorted reality is considered an enemy of the tribe.

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Part 2. Sinclair Broadcasting Thank you.

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Now, you might think all this biased media happens on cable or online.

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But what if your local trusted news anchor is reading right-wing propaganda verbatim?

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Enter Sinclair Broadcasting Group, one of the largest U.S.

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Media conglomerates, owning nearly 200 local stations that reach 40% of American households.

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In 2018, a viral mashup revealed dozens of Sinclair anchors across the country,

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reading the same scripted message about fake news and media bias.

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It was robotic, authoritarian, and terrifying.

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Unlike Fox's fiery style, Sinclair operates as a Trojan horse,

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dressed in the familiar face of local news.

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Studies show 76% of Americans trust local TV more than national networks,

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and Sinclair exploits that trust, delivering centrally produced partisan content

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without labeled opinion segments.

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The narratives they push? Antifa infiltrates suburbs.

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Vaccines are risky. Schools indoctrinate kids with critical race theory.

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And minimum wage hikes kill small businesses.

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These aren't fringe stories. In swing states and small towns,

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they shape the political landscape quietly but powerfully.

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Even former President Trump praised Sinclair's Washington Station,

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calling it more honest than CNN and NBC.

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But this isn't journalism. It's loyalty.

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Sinclair's goal? Shift the Overton window. make the extreme seem normal by cloaking

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it in the trusted voice of your local anchor.

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It erodes trust in experts, institutions, and journalists, replacing it with

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a warped vision of America.

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Part 3. Talk Radio and the Anger Machine.

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Before Fox or Sinclair, talk radio set the stage.

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It was loud, relentless, and effective. And it began with Rush Limbaugh in 1988.

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The repeal of the Fairness Doctrine paved the way for unfiltered,

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unbalanced right-wing commentary.

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Limbaugh's show reached over 20 million weekly listeners at its peak,

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more reach than many politicians.

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His approach? Emotional manipulation.

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He coined terms like feminazis for women's rights advocates,

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anchor babies for immigrants, and dismissed LGBTQ plus rights as militant agendas.

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Limbaugh reframed politics as a personal affront to his listeners,

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creating a deep sense of victimhood and division.

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This wasn't just talk. It trained millions to distrust science,

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despise the media, reject nuance, and believe liberals were evil.

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Limbaugh made cruelty popular and lucrative, earning millions from ads promoting

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snake oil products alongside outrage.

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His influence spawned imitators, including Hannity, Beck, Ingram,

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and others, who dominate 91% of commercial talk radio today.

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This created an angry uncle effect, a generation steeped in grievance that echoes

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through family gatherings, social media, and politics.

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Today's far-right politicians, like Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene,

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are the living embodiment of this talk radio blueprint, performative outrage,

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victimhood, and constant doubling down, prioritizing clicks over policy.

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Though Limbaugh passed in 2021, his legacy fuels podcasts, OAN,

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Newsmax, and much of the modern GOP's cruelty culture.

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Part 4, Fox's Greatest Hits.

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If Fox News had a most excellent hits album, it would be radioactive.

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Let's revisit some of the most infamous lies that have shaped public opinion

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and policy with devastating effects.

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The Bowling Green Massacre, Kellyanne Conway cited a terror attack that never

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happened to justify Trump's Muslim travel ban.

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The massacre was a fabrication.

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Only two Iraqi nationals had been arrested for unrelated crimes years earlier.

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The correction never matched the reach and damage.

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Jade Helm, 15. A routine military training exercise morphed into a conspiracy

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that Obama planned martial law in Texas.

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Fox stoked fears enough to prompt armed patrols and a governor deploying the

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State Guard to monitor U.S. troops.

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Death panels. Fox endlessly amplified Sarah Palin's false claim that Obamacare

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would create government euthanasia panels.

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This fear led to the removal of important bill sections and undermined public trust.

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Migrant caravan invasion. Fox used military language and drone footage to portray

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migrant families seeking asylum as an organized assault, prompting Trump to

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deploy thousands of troops in a photo op weeks before midterms.

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COVID vaccine lies. Fox hosts, such as Tucker Carlson, cast doubt on vaccine

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safety and mortality data.

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A 2022 study found Fox viewers had lower vaccination rates and higher death

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rates, directly linked to these disinformation campaigns.

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CRT hysteria, though critical race theory isn't taught in K-12 schools,

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Fox portrayed it as a threat to children, sparking protests,

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book bans, and laws censoring history and education.

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These lies stick because they tap into fear and outrage, and as Winston Churchill

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said, a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its boots on.

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Part 5, The Alternate Reality Economy.

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So why do so many people believe these falsehoods? Why does Uncle Frank trust

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a YouTube chiropractor over doctors?

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Why did neighbors swear Trump was still president in 2021 or that JFK Jr. is coming back?

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It's not intelligence. It's an entirely constructed alternate reality,

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engineered to isolate and monopolize beliefs.

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Right-wing media surrounds its audience with reinforcing voices,

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tribal loyalty, conspiracy cover, and persecution narratives.

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Truth becomes a threat to identity.

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This alternate universe has

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its facts. Trump didn't lose. Climate change is a hoax. COVID was a scam.

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Liberals are pedophiles. And democracy is rigged.

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For many, especially in rural and suburban America, consuming Fox News isn't

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a hobby. It's their worldview.

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Challenges to that worldview are met with rage, heartbreak, or silence.

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Why won't this ecosystem self-correct? because outrage equals profit,

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viewers become votes, and social media algorithms reward extremes.

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Truth has no chance when anger is the algorithm. For those outside the bubble,

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this leads to exhaustion, disbelief, and sadness as they watch loved ones fall down rabbit holes.

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Part 6, How We Rebuild.

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Can we fix this? Yes, but not with tired, both-sides arguments or polite calls for civility.

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Step one, stop the bleeding. Turn off Fox News. Don't share rage bait.

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Gently question false claims and plant seeds of doubt.

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Step two, replace garbage with grounded journalism.

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Support trusted, non-hysterical outlets like Bigger Table, Reuters,

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AP, ProPublica, NPR, and others.

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Podcast recommendations include The Weeds, On the Media, and Bigger Tables podcast.

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Step three, make media literacy mainstream.

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Teach how to verify sources, identify biased language, and detect misinformation.

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Step four, talk to the reachable. Let go of those who are too far gone in conspiracies,

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but engage gently and persistently with others to rebuild trust.

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Step five, build a bigger table. This isn't left versus right,

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it's reality versus delusion.

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We rebuild democracy through shared truth, greater compassion, and increased courage.

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Remember, propaganda is a fire hose, but truth is a flame, and we protect it

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by passing it hand to hand. Be that hand.

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If this episode resonated with you, subscribe to Bigger Table,

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our blog, podcast, and YouTube channel dedicated to clear-eyed analysis and

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media that builds, not divides.

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Thanks for listening and stay grounded in facts, not fear.

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Thanks for pulling up a chair at Bigger Table. If you believe in more voices,

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fewer walls, and real progress, please help us grow.

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Follow, review, and share this podcast.

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Until next time, keep building a bigger table.