Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth
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- Create Date：2024-03-10 06:21:44
- Update Date：2025-09-13
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- Author：Brian Stelter
- ISBN：B07Z41TM54
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Summary
The urgent and untold story of the collusion between Fox News and Donald Trump from the New York Times bestselling author of Top of the Morning。
While other leaders were marshaling resources to combat the greatest pandemic in modern history， President Donald Trump was watching TV。 Trump watches over six hours of Fox News a day， a habit his staff refers to as “executive time。” In January 2020， when Fox News began to downplay COVID-19， the President was quick to agree。 In March， as the deadly virus spiraled out of control， Sean Hannity mocked “coronavirus hysteria” as “new hoax” from the left。 Millions of Americans took Hannity and Trump's words as truth—until some of them started to get sick。
In Hoax， CNN anchor and chief media correspondent Brian Stelter tells the twisted story of the relationship between Donald Trump and Fox News。 From the moment Trump glided down the golden escalator to announce his candidacy in the 2016 presidential election to his acquittal on two articles of impeachment in early 2020， Fox hosts spread his lies and smeared his enemies。 Over the course of two years， Stelter spoke with over 250 current and former Fox insiders in an effort to understand the inner workings of Rupert Murdoch's multibillion-dollar media empire。 Some of the confessions are alarming。 “We don't really believe all this stuff，” a producer says。 “We just tell other people to believe it。”
At the center of the story lies Sean Hannity， a college dropout who， following the death of Fox News mastermind Roger Ailes， reigns supreme at the network that pays him $30 million a year。 Stelter describes the raging tensions inside Fox between the Trump loyalists and the few remaining journalists。 He reveals why former chief news anchor Shep Smith resigned in disgust in 2019; why a former anchor said “if I stay here I’ll get cancer;” and how Trump has exploited the leadership vacuum at the top to effectively seize control of the network。
Including never before reported details， Hoax exposes the media personalities who， though morally bankrupt， profit outrageously by promoting the President’s propaganda and radicalizing the American right。 It is a book for anyone who reads the news and wonders: How did this happen？
While other leaders were marshaling resources to combat the greatest pandemic in modern history， President Donald Trump was watching TV。 Trump watches over six hours of Fox News a day， a habit his staff refers to as “executive time。” In January 2020， when Fox News began to downplay COVID-19， the President was quick to agree。 In March， as the deadly virus spiraled out of control， Sean Hannity mocked “coronavirus hysteria” as “new hoax” from the left。 Millions of Americans took Hannity and Trump's words as truth—until some of them started to get sick。
In Hoax， CNN anchor and chief media correspondent Brian Stelter tells the twisted story of the relationship between Donald Trump and Fox News。 From the moment Trump glided down the golden escalator to announce his candidacy in the 2016 presidential election to his acquittal on two articles of impeachment in early 2020， Fox hosts spread his lies and smeared his enemies。 Over the course of two years， Stelter spoke with over 250 current and former Fox insiders in an effort to understand the inner workings of Rupert Murdoch's multibillion-dollar media empire。 Some of the confessions are alarming。 “We don't really believe all this stuff，” a producer says。 “We just tell other people to believe it。”
At the center of the story lies Sean Hannity， a college dropout who， following the death of Fox News mastermind Roger Ailes， reigns supreme at the network that pays him $30 million a year。 Stelter describes the raging tensions inside Fox between the Trump loyalists and the few remaining journalists。 He reveals why former chief news anchor Shep Smith resigned in disgust in 2019; why a former anchor said “if I stay here I’ll get cancer;” and how Trump has exploited the leadership vacuum at the top to effectively seize control of the network。
Including never before reported details， Hoax exposes the media personalities who， though morally bankrupt， profit outrageously by promoting the President’s propaganda and radicalizing the American right。 It is a book for anyone who reads the news and wonders: How did this happen？
Reviews
Alice Bloomfield
，
3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️I was hoping this would be a bit more objective but it reads more as a collection of anecdotes with people throwing sass at Trump。 I’m not a fan of Trump but a genuine critique and analysis would have been preferable。
Q Li
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Q's bubble of thoughts:An in-depth analysis on the fabric of truth in public discourse， mainly the relationship between Fox news and former President Trump。 A really compelling read on the impact of media manipulation and the dynamics of misinformation on democratic institutions。4。5/5 Q's bubble of thoughts:An in-depth analysis on the fabric of truth in public discourse， mainly the relationship between Fox news and former President Trump。 A really compelling read on the impact of media manipulation and the dynamics of misinformation on democratic institutions。4。5/5 。。。more
Jeff Platsky
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‘Profits over principle。’ The Fox News mantra。 Enough said。
Budd Margolis
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Stelter is a superb journalist who weaves the stories within Fox News and the White oOuse to reveal just how close Trump was to Fox ans how he mimicked the wild statements with no fact checking or reliance on his own staff？ Truly frightening how they worked together to spread lies， disinformation and deceived the American people of a functioning President。 The cost？ Many American lives were lost to Covid and the awful advice provided b Fox and Trump and his gang of idiots。 It is hard to imagine Stelter is a superb journalist who weaves the stories within Fox News and the White oOuse to reveal just how close Trump was to Fox ans how he mimicked the wild statements with no fact checking or reliance on his own staff？ Truly frightening how they worked together to spread lies， disinformation and deceived the American people of a functioning President。 The cost？ Many American lives were lost to Covid and the awful advice provided b Fox and Trump and his gang of idiots。 It is hard to imagine how Fox's staff of hard right wing conspiracy theorists could develop American domestic and foreign policies from immigration and trade and how Trumps staff thought he was a moron。 。。。more
Amy
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VERY eye opening。
Herb Neumann
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Trump haters will love this book， MAGA crowd won't read it - why bother with a review？ Trump haters will love this book， MAGA crowd won't read it - why bother with a review？ 。。。more
Pascal Vanenburg
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“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears。 It was their final， most essential command。” George Orwell， 1984
Solomiya Zahray
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Could have been shorter。 But quite interesting
Josh
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Fantastic， thorough reporting by Brian Stelter， but I feel like he skimps a bit on the analysis。 He documents in minute detail the radicalization feedback loop between Fox and Trump， but he doesn’t address why this was possible in the same detail。 Stelter seems invested in the idea that pre-Trump Fox was fundamentally a normal news organization， （if a bit conservative，） when it has appeared clear to progressives for decades that Fox has much more in common with Murdoch’s overseas tabloid past an Fantastic， thorough reporting by Brian Stelter， but I feel like he skimps a bit on the analysis。 He documents in minute detail the radicalization feedback loop between Fox and Trump， but he doesn’t address why this was possible in the same detail。 Stelter seems invested in the idea that pre-Trump Fox was fundamentally a normal news organization， （if a bit conservative，） when it has appeared clear to progressives for decades that Fox has much more in common with Murdoch’s overseas tabloid past and political activism than it has with any other major American news organization。 For example， Stelter gives Roger Ailes credit for tapping the brakes on on-air birtherism， while noting in passing that Ailes was himself a committed birther， who believed President Obama was a “sinister force。” Could there be a connection between Fox’s descent into unreality during the Trump years， and the fact that Fox was founded by a conspiracy theorizing political activist under the aegis of a rightwing billionaire who wanted to restructure American politics？ Seems likely！ By downplaying the way white Christian nationalism was baked into Fox at the beginning， Stelter arrives at the conclusion that after Ailes’ ouster， Fox essentially had a power vacuum， and the on air personalities in its top down culture simply reoriented from trying to please Roger to trying to please Trump， who was able to motivate energy in Fox viewers that management found useful but frightening。 It’s a fascinating idea， but I think underdeveloped。 A discussion of Fox’s descent into propaganda that ignores the Freedom Fries era， and the way Fox fits into the larger ecosystem of well-funded rightwing media in the ‘90s is ultimately incomplete。 。。。more
Wildon Mitter
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This book was a bit biased but almost every statement was backed by evidence， quite unlike the current "news" stations。 This book was a bit biased but almost every statement was backed by evidence， quite unlike the current "news" stations。 。。。more
Deb Van Iderstine
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An interesting listen， particularly as former CNN commentator Stelter apparently had a lot of inside contacts at Fox。 He reads his own audiobook， and is generally good at it， if occasionally a bit shrill。 Looking forward to his recently released follow-up， Network of Lies。
Sara
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If this author thinks I’m going to listen to him in hysterics for 15+ hours， he’s nuts。 I was looking forward to this listen， but two minutes of the narration completely changed my mind。
Barbpie
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So darned scary。
Tracey Dykes
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Look at the Author before buying！ This book is Fake News。 You can tell by the author of the book。 Nice try CNN to push your Fake News。 Most of our country is to smart to fall for your reporting。 So happy I didn’t pay a penny for this book。 Why try to ruin a great country & pro Americans with your Fake news & Lies。It’s all garbage。 If you don’t like what this powerful country stands for， why don’t you take the Dems with you and leave this Wonderful country before you try to destroy it。
ForestGardenGal
，
I hated this book。 It was enlightening， well researched and documented， well written and edited。 It discussed a matter of vital national importance。 I consider myself generally well informed， but there were definite moments of further clarity about the Fox feedback loop and I gained an increased understanding of the causes of our current national mess。 Maybe if such increased understanding becomes widespread， we can begin to reverse the damage， and once again meet somewhere nearer to the middle。 I hated this book。 It was enlightening， well researched and documented， well written and edited。 It discussed a matter of vital national importance。 I consider myself generally well informed， but there were definite moments of further clarity about the Fox feedback loop and I gained an increased understanding of the causes of our current national mess。 Maybe if such increased understanding becomes widespread， we can begin to reverse the damage， and once again meet somewhere nearer to the middle。Why did I hate it？ Because the entire time I was reading it， I continuously thought of sharing it with certain loved ones who are still （in mid-2023） entirely devoted to defending and supporting Trump and to their preferred "news" sources， and I absolutely know that nothing in the world will shake their faith in him。 Nothing。 Let that sink in。 The Murdoch family is not the only family being torn asunder。The tragedy of this book is that those who would benefit most from the information will never allow themselves to be confronted by it。 。。。more
Katherine Li
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The author thinks he is cleverer than he really is but I still enjoyed his take to some extent。
Braeden Weston
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Best book I have read since Bunnicula。 They are kindve similar if you think about how the media tried to shut them both down
rachel
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This was a highly insightful read on Fox News in the Trump era， and how co-dependent their relationship was on propping the other up; mainly by profusing the spread of misinformation。 As a journalism major， I am glad I read this （could see this perhaps being required reading for a future journalism ethics/history class？） and found myself in shock at some of the revelations Brian Stelter made。 Although the majority of his sources from Fox were anonymous （and he could get sued if he made any of th This was a highly insightful read on Fox News in the Trump era， and how co-dependent their relationship was on propping the other up; mainly by profusing the spread of misinformation。 As a journalism major， I am glad I read this （could see this perhaps being required reading for a future journalism ethics/history class？） and found myself in shock at some of the revelations Brian Stelter made。 Although the majority of his sources from Fox were anonymous （and he could get sued if he made any of these sources up， 'cause journalism， people！）， I nevertheless could not wrap my head around how little people actually enjoyed what Fox was doing during the 44th President's term。 My only qualm with this book was how Stelter would name-drop people or events without much （or any） context or explanation。 Further， with how many people shared the same name/last name， I got so confused at times trying to figure out who's who （i。e。， Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Bernie Sanders are both referred to as "Sanders。" Yes， I know this is standard for journalism， but pleaseeee have some differentiation between the two）。 。。。more
Sadie Wright
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Written in the middle of COVID and before the Fox New vs Dominion trial， this book tell you why Fox did what it did before the court discovery put it on the record。 So it was very interesting to read， even though I knew alot of it anyway。
JACKIE O
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Everyone needs to read this。
Angelo Tenorio
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DNFed。 Very interesting but external circumstance led me to stop reading this book。
Lynn Schaufelberger
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Very interesting read and I used to put the blame solely on Fox News for creating the Trump Disaster and current political climate but in reality just like tango it takes two to dance。They are just giving the viewers exactly what they want to hear and believe for ratings and money。Sad state of affairs for our democracy
Joel
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As one who does not watch Fox News， some of the revelations were interesting to me。 I liked the author's explanation of how stories are framed differently depending on the network。 Just something different from what I usually read。 As one who does not watch Fox News， some of the revelations were interesting to me。 I liked the author's explanation of how stories are framed differently depending on the network。 Just something different from what I usually read。 。。。more
Jeroen Pen
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Mede medianerds: mustread。
Dave Scott
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Stelter offers a lively examination of how Fox News enabled the rise of Donald Trump as a political figure， how President Trump and Fox formed a feedback loop of content and commentary， and how all these processes contributed to the radicalization of many of the channel's viewers who came to identify truth and conservatism with loyalty to Trump。 Other authors have noted these connections but Stelter does the meticulous legwork of documenting the details and nuances of these events。 What he effec Stelter offers a lively examination of how Fox News enabled the rise of Donald Trump as a political figure， how President Trump and Fox formed a feedback loop of content and commentary， and how all these processes contributed to the radicalization of many of the channel's viewers who came to identify truth and conservatism with loyalty to Trump。 Other authors have noted these connections but Stelter does the meticulous legwork of documenting the details and nuances of these events。 What he effectively does along the way is give a concise history of Fox News， as well as an account of how the wall between opinion and news became compromised as the network made a series of moves further to the right。 Much more could be said about this book but， in the spirit of brevity， I'll end with this: This book helped me come to the realization that， although Trump was embraced as the Messiah who would drain the swamp and thwart the deep state， his messianic significance would shift to being the exemplar of one who suffers under these forces when defeating them proved to be unlikely-to-impossible。 When loyalty to this type of savior is the definition of patriotism and faith， any number of ideological shifts and intensifications become possible and a defensible epistemology becomes irrelevant。 。。。more
Mike S
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The subject matter of the book is apparent from the title。 It is basically about the inner workings of FOX during the run-up to the 2016 election and throughout the 2017-2021 presidential administration。Stelter admits up front that he did not write this book as an objective journalist， and he most definitely interjects his personal opinions of Fox， the people that run it and work there， and the people involved with the 2017-2021 presidential administration。 The book is about 350 pages （some of w The subject matter of the book is apparent from the title。 It is basically about the inner workings of FOX during the run-up to the 2016 election and throughout the 2017-2021 presidential administration。Stelter admits up front that he did not write this book as an objective journalist， and he most definitely interjects his personal opinions of Fox， the people that run it and work there， and the people involved with the 2017-2021 presidential administration。 The book is about 350 pages （some of which are just footnotes citing different sources of information） but is a pretty quick read。 It is something that， if you read relatively fast， you can get through in a day or two。 It is a revealing look behind the curtain at FOX and exposes some of the hypocrisy of those who work there。 While I would not classify it as a must-read， it is definitely worth reading if you are into news， politics， and current events （with some gossip mixed in too）。 。。。more
Ken Tingley
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If you want to understand the Dominion lawsuit， this is the first step。 Stelter lays out problems at Fox that are decades in the making。 He is working on a followup book that should be even more informative。
Steve L。 Weddle
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MUST READExcellent read。 Insightful and informative。 Well written and alarming。 Disgusting， the degree of deceit and division this cable channel was permitted to create in this country under this fascist authoritarian individual。 Appalling。
David Spencer
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Not a must-read， but a good companion to Audience of One， James Poniewozik’s examination of Donald Trump’s reality-TV persona and how it fit into the White House debacle that we all saw in the news。 Probably this book’s most shocking revelation is the source of the contorted Trump-world reality。 According to a former Fox & Friends producer: “People think he’s calling up Fox & Friends and telling us what to say。 Hell no。 It’s the opposite。 We tell him what to say。” And worse yet—if worse is even Not a must-read， but a good companion to Audience of One， James Poniewozik’s examination of Donald Trump’s reality-TV persona and how it fit into the White House debacle that we all saw in the news。 Probably this book’s most shocking revelation is the source of the contorted Trump-world reality。 According to a former Fox & Friends producer: “People think he’s calling up Fox & Friends and telling us what to say。 Hell no。 It’s the opposite。 We tell him what to say。” And worse yet—if worse is even possible here—Russian propagandists were the model for the disinformation campaign。 。。。more
Woodstock Pickett
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