Seth MacFarlane: New York Times doing 'their best' to be factual but Fox News only 'in it for the money'

Cartoonist Seth MacFarlane said he would "defend to the death" the presence of journalists and remarked that the common social media user is not as informed as a journalist who wrote the story.

MacFarlane, whose political commentary has increased on the horizon of the 2024 presidential election, gave his opinions on journalists and their expertise during an episode of the "Logically Speaking" podcast hosted by rapper Logic (Sir Robert Bryson Hall II).

"I will defend to the death the presence and existence of journalists," MacFarlane said when speaking on news credibility. The "Family Guy" creator then explained how he feels the New York Times is an especially credible news outlet, whereas an outlet like Fox News is only in pursuit of money.

"When you look at a New York Times article on Instagram ... and you look at the headline and you read it and you maybe click on the link and you read the story, that story, whether you agree with it or not, whether you connect with it or not, has been written by somebody who did the research, who did the work, who did the foot work, who put in the hours to at least make an attempt to communicate the truth to their audience," MacFarlane explained.

"Still just their opinion," Logic interjected, seemingly not completely agreeing with MacFarlane's take.

"They're not perfect," MacFarlane continued. "If they make a mistake — and they do make their share of mistakes — there are retractions, there are admissions of that, you know that's what separates Fox News. Fox News is in it for the dough, that's as simple as I can put it. They're in it for the money, and they make a lot of money, and they get a lot of viewers. Is it worth it? Wouldn't be to me, I wouldn't able to sleep at night."

MacFarlane then referred to comment sections on social media and expressed that the typical reader is not as informed as a New York Times writer and that such an outlet should not allow comments on their social media pages.

"When you look at legitimate journalism, I go back to what I said, you look at a New York Times article on Instagram, and then you look at the comments and everyone thinks they're an expert. Everybody thinks that they know better than the person who did the leg work. Everybody thinks they know better than the person who put in the hours, did the research, did the interviews, did the follow-up, did the best that they could to make sure that everything that they put into print is factual. And maybe they missed something, maybe they f**ked up, but they did their best."

The entertainment entrepreneur continued, citing a study that he says showed news readers are absorbing "extremism" through comment sections that change their opinion on stories.

"It's shocking to me that any press outlet ... they consent to comments under [articles] because there are studies that have shown that if you read an article on social media, you process it a certain way once you read the comments, and you start absorbing the inevitable extremism that comes with comments."

Comments "reduce" the argument to "black and white," MacFarlane claimed, adding that readers then perceive "the original article" in a "more extreme, more polarized way."

MacFarlane's recent appearances on shows such as "Real Time with Bill Maher" have not gone without criticism. Comedian Joe Rogan openly mocked MacFarlane for "gas lighting" the American public with "crazy" claims about President Biden's competency.

MacFarlane had said that Biden's age "is his superpower."

"You’re talking about a guy who can’t speak. We all know you’re doing this; you’re gaslighting. And you’re doing it because you think that this is the good side and the bad side’s bad, and you do whatever you can to change the way people view things," Rogan decried.

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