Media Matters Daily Summary 05-27-11

WSJ Op-Ed Denies Dangers Of U.S. Mercury Emissions
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed attacking EPA's proposal to limit toxic air pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants, Willie Soon and Paul Driessen obscure the challenges posed by U.S. mercury emissions, which they say pose "minuscule risks." Read More

Fox Attacks Science By Hyping Misleading Claims About National Science Foundation Funds
Following a report released by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) accusing the National Science Foundation (NSF) of "mismanagement of taxpayer funds," Fox News seized on the report making a series of misleading claims about the NSF-funded studies in the report. Read More

Ailes' Reported "Personal Paranoia" About Muslims, Gays Mirrored On Fox
In a May 25 Rolling Stone article on the "Fox News Fear Factory," Tim Dickinson reported that Fox News chairman Roger Ailes "has a personal paranoia about people who are Muslim -- which is consistent with the ideology of his network" and that Ailes "lived in fear that gay activists would try to attack him in retaliation over his hostility to gay rights." Indeed, Ailes' reported "personal paranoia" has been mirrored on Fox, which has a long history of smearing and attacking Muslims and the LGBT community. Read More

Right-Wing Media's Relentless False Attack: Obama Does Not Support Israel
Right-wing media have claimed that President Obama attacked Israel in his recent restatement of U.S. policy that a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 borders with agreed upon swaps. These criticisms follow a long series of falsehoods, distortions, and smears advanced by the right-wing media to claim that Obama and his administration are anti-Israel or even anti-Semitic. Read More

Right-Wing Media Attack Obama Over Medicare "Cuts" As They Praise Ryan Plan, Which Includes Same "Cuts"
Right-wing media figures are claiming that Rep. Paul Ryan's budget proposal does not cut Medicare spending, while accusing President Obama of having "cut" $500 billion from Medicare as part of the Affordable Care Act. In fact, these "cuts" come through eliminating parts of Medicare "seen as ineffective or wasteful," and Ryan's plan retains this $500 billion in reductions, while increasing out-of-pocket costs for seniors. Read More