Jacques Ellul’s work Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes (1965) and George Orwell’s 1984 (1949) both analyze how propaganda can shape perceptions, enforce conformity, and direct public behavior through the media. While Ellul studies the mechanics of propaganda in modern democracies, Orwell imagines a dystopian world where propaganda has reached its ultimate oppressive form. By examining Fox News through the perspectives of Ellul and Orwell, one can observe how it operates as a sophisticated machine for spreading selective narratives and reinforcing specific ideologies, creating an “us versus them” mentality similar to Orwell’s fictional world of 1984.
Ellul’s Concept of Propaganda and Orwell’s “Big Brother”
Ellul defines propaganda as a continuous, systemic effort to influence public perception and behavior through the careful integration of selective messaging. Propaganda operates best when it feels natural and becomes embedded in everyday life so that people unconsciously absorb certain ideologies as truth. Fox News fulfills this role by presenting itself as a reliable news source while constantly promoting specific perspectives and values. This mirrors Orwell’s idea of “Big Brother,” the ever-present government figure who dictates what is true or false and monitors society to ensure compliance with the state’s ideology. Although Fox News is not an authoritarian state, its pervasive influence and repetition of certain ideas have created a media environment that Orwell would recognize as a breeding ground for controlling thought.
Orwell’s 1984 illustrates how propaganda can construct an alternate reality where history and facts are manipulated to maintain social control. The concept of “Newspeak” in 1984, a language designed to limit thought and expression, demonstrates Orwell’s idea that language can be a powerful tool for controlling minds. In a similar way, Fox News often simplifies complex issues into short slogans and buzzwords—like “fake news,” “cancel culture,” and “patriotism”—which strip issues of complexity and create an emotional response rather than an informed analysis. This process echoes Ellul’s notion of “integration propaganda,” which aims to shape a collective identity by embedding certain values into society, guiding individuals to see themselves as part of a unified group defending against a common enemy.
Pre-Propaganda and the Shaping of Reality
Ellul introduces the concept of “pre-propaganda,” the subtle priming of audiences to accept certain ideas and frameworks before explicit messages are delivered. Fox News, like other powerful media outlets, operates on this principle by consistently promoting a worldview that emphasizes certain values, such as distrust of government, skepticism toward mainstream media, and hostility toward those perceived as “others.” Over time, these values become the baseline for interpreting information, priming audiences to accept ideologically driven news as factual. Orwell’s 1984 presents a similar concept in the Ministry of Truth, which rewrites history and shapes reality to ensure loyalty to the state.
Orwell’s “Two Minutes Hate,” a daily broadcast that channels public anger against the government’s enemies, is another parallel to how Fox News operates. By constantly framing groups like immigrants, liberals, or activists as dangerous or untrustworthy, Fox News creates an “us versus them” mentality, which encourages its viewers to see themselves as defenders of American values against various perceived threats. This mechanism of inciting fear and anger toward a common enemy aligns with Ellul’s concept of “agitation propaganda,” which motivates individuals by playing on strong emotions and providing them with a sense of purpose.
Emotional Manipulation: A Page from 1984
Ellul asserts that effective propaganda works by appealing to emotions, bypassing rational thought to create visceral reactions that are hard to counter with logic. Fox News frequently uses emotionally charged language, especially during primetime segments hosted by figures like Sean Hannity, Jesse Waters, and Laura Ingraham. These hosts use sensationalist and dramatic language to incite anger, fear, and outrage in their viewers, often over issues like immigration, crime, or threats to traditional values. This emotional manipulation resembles the “Two Minutes Hate” in 1984, where citizens are rallied to express rage toward the state’s enemies.
Orwell’s Party uses hatred to create loyalty to Big Brother and a fear of rebellion; similarly, Fox News harnesses fear to increase viewer loyalty by framing certain issues and people as existential threats to the American way of life. Ellul warns that propaganda’s appeal to strong emotions, like anger and fear, is highly effective because it creates an attachment to the propagandist’s agenda that is difficult to break. This emotional connection is self-reinforcing, causing audiences to feel as though any information challenging their views is not just incorrect but also threatening.
Cultivating Group Identity and Loyalty
Ellul describes propaganda as a means of creating a collective identity that allows individuals to feel a sense of belonging. Fox News builds this identity by frequently using inclusive language like “we” and “us,” encouraging viewers to see themselves as part of a larger group defending American values. By framing itself as the only trustworthy source, Fox News reinforces loyalty among viewers, who may feel that the network is uniquely “on their side.” This dynamic is reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984, where the Party encourages citizens to be suspicious of all information except what is state-approved.
In 1984, the concept of “doublethink” teaches citizens to accept contradictory truths if they come from the Party, preventing any resistance to the Party’s message. Fox News has a similar effect, where it encourages viewers to see mainstream media as biased or deceitful, fostering a media echo chamber. Even when Fox News reports controversial or factually questionable information, its loyal audience is conditioned to accept these messages without question, often dismissing contradictory sources as untrustworthy or fake.
The Language of Simplification and Misinformation
Both Orwell and Ellul recognize the importance of simplified language and controlled narratives in shaping public opinion. In 1984, “Newspeak” limits the range of thought by eliminating complex ideas from the language. Similarly, Fox News uses simplified slogans and catchphrases to reduce complex social and political issues into binary terms. For instance, terms like “war on Christmas,” “cancel culture,” and “patriotism” become rallying cries that eliminate nuances, creating emotional responses rather than informed debates. Ellul argues that such simplification is essential to propaganda because it allows people to take sides without needing to analyze or understand complex information.
Moreover, Fox News has been criticized for spreading misinformation, especially on issues like climate change, election integrity, and COVID-19. Orwell’s 1984 presents a world where the truth is whatever the Party declares it to be, even if it contradicts reality. Similarly, Fox News has crafted a version of reality for its viewers that is often disconnected from empirical evidence. According to Ellul, propaganda’s goal is not to inform but to embed a particular perspective so deeply that it becomes the audience’s accepted reality. This reliance on repetition and familiarity creates a stable “alternative truth” that often stands impervious to external verification, much like the Party’s insistence that “2+2=5.”
The Cycle of Propaganda and Orwellian Thought Control
Ellul warns that propaganda operates within a self-sustaining cycle, where individuals seek out information that reinforces their beliefs, deepening their dependence on a single source. Fox News benefits from this echo chamber effect, where its viewers continually return to the network as their primary source of information, viewing other media outlets as suspect or untrustworthy. This closed-loop system creates a sense of loyalty and insulates viewers from alternative perspectives, a phenomenon akin to Orwell’s 1984, where citizens are conditioned to view any dissenting views as dangerous.
The proliferation of Fox News across television, online, and social media platforms enables this cycle to persist, embedding its narratives into the daily lives of its audience. By mirroring Orwell’s warnings about thought control and media monopolization, Fox News illustrates how propaganda can create a reality that both Ellul and Orwell would recognize as dangerously limiting for a democratic society.
Conclusion
Through the combined lens of Jacques Ellul’s analysis of propaganda and Orwell’s dystopian vision in 1984, Fox News emerges as a propaganda machine that shapes public attitudes, reinforces specific ideologies, and promotes misinformation. By embedding certain values, simplifying complex issues, and creating an emotionally charged sense of identity, Fox News ensures that its viewers adopt a unified worldview aligned with the network’s agenda. This model not only amplifies Fox News’ influence but also inhibits critical engagement with alternative perspectives. As Ellul and Orwell warn, this type of propaganda—be it in reality or fiction—is both socially transformative and profoundly restrictive, limiting the potential for an informed, democratic society.
Debbie and I serve as the FMI Global Associate Director for MENACA and Europe. We focus on cultivating disciples, leaders, and church planting movements.
