There is a consensus among conservatives that the media are liberal. So to “balance” the airwaves, Fox News does its patriotic duty by giving the “true conservative” news. Fox often lies or is flat-out wrong about the “news” it reports. It is a disgrace to American journalism and insults the American people with its low-brow, fallacious reporting. Even with all of its past wrongdoings Fox has brought “news” coverage to a new low.

On Jan. 21, “The Live Desk With Martha MacCallum” had the author of “The Cult of Perfection: Making Peace With Your Inner Overachiever,” Cooper Lawrence, discuss a critically acclaimed and top-selling Xbox 360 game, “Mass Effect.” This self-help author publicly admitted that she had never played the game but insisted that “Mass Effect” was ruining the children of America with its overexploitive “sex” scenes.

After this comment, the Internet erupted with angry gamers who logged on to Amazon.com and gave Ms. Lawrence’s book more than 450 user votes of one star. They also tagged her book as “garbage” and “ignorant,” among other negative remarks.

Only after receiving so much negative press did Ms. Lawrence actually take time to play the game. After playing the game and actually seeing the “explicit” sex scene, she publicly took back her remarks. She said she had seen episodes of “Lost” that were more sexually explicit. Electronic Arts, the publisher of “Mass Effect,” has asked Fox for an official apology but still has not received a response.

This is only one example of the many atrocities Fox commits in the name of conservative news. The network claimed that Barack Obama grew up in a Muslim madrassa, stating he was a domestic insurgent. Turns out the senator went to a secular public school in Indonesia for 2 1/2 years. The only Muslim connection is that 90 percent of students were Muslim. Obama was a practicing Christian while there and never has been a Muslim.

The worst part is that when Fox is clearly proved wrong, it doesn’t have the integrity to admit it and issue an apology. In 2004, Dan Rather had a story about President Bush’s questionable service in the Texas Air National Guard. When his sources proved to be unreliable, he apologized for the story and took back his statements. People like Dan Rather and companies like CBS have morals and understand their role as reporters. Some people think it’s OK if Fox gets it wrong occasionally because we need it to balance the liberal media.

A study done by the University of Minnesota suggests that the notion of the media being liberal is only a strategy used by conservative politicians. This simple “kill the messenger” tactic allows them to easily dispute negative news they receive.

The only reason Fox News is even accepted is because so many people believe “their news” isn’t being reported. But a study done by this university breaks up the strategies of politicians and the beliefs that manifest from it. Professor David Tewksbury, who took part in the study, stated, “We have found that strong liberals and strong conservatives just see the news differently. Both tend to see biased news where less partisan people see relatively balanced news. Researchers call this the hostile media phenomenon.” People’s perceptions tell them what they want to hear. If a report isn’t exactly what they agree with, then they view the report as wrong and biased.

Now some of you are thinking that I am obviously biased. After reading this column or any of my past columns you would label me as a liberal (even though I hate being labeled anything other than handsome). But I don’t claim to be a news reporter. I have the word “Opinions” printed large and bolded above all of my columns. I do research, think for a while, form a solid opinion, then put it to paper for all to read. Never do I call it the “truth” or infallible. Fox News is a cancer to America and its population’s intelligence by stupefying anyone who watches it.

Paul is a junior in computer and political science, and only watches Fox when the Super Bowl is on.