To block GBNews from my parent’s TV?

[goslowly]

My parents retired 4 years ago. They’re both in their 60s, healthy, happy, comfortable financially.

Since they’ve retired they have been sucked in by every single thing they say on there. They can spend an entire day sat in front of the TV getting angrier and angrier. It’s to the point that if Starmer comes on the TV, they shout about how he should be killed.

it’s genuinely starting to concern me. You can’t have a rational conversation with them about anything. I miss my parents, how they used to be before all the conspiracy and anger took over.

I’m genuinely tempted to block it from their tv using parental controls and just pretending it’s some weird fault in their telly. They’d not be able to fix it.

This.

What they choose to do, believe, think, and watch on TV is their own choice.

OP, seek help.

Exactly! They have a lovely garden to tend to, we live in such a gorgeous area to explore.

The problem is that once you have someone in your life who has gone so far down the rabbit hole they are not interested in any fact checking or any credible evidence you can present. My brother - who has a number of mental issues (he's 47 and currently going out with a 22 year old girl...) - keeps telling me that Hitler was sadly misunderstood, that WW2 was started and run by the Jews and Hitler was just trying to save everyone from them, there was no holocaust, Hitler understood the way the world was going so the Jews had to kill him before everyone realised he had it right all along etc. There is no fact or evidence you can put in front of him that he will be remotely interested in.

I do know some other people like this but having spent a long time working in live television news, I have to say that an awful lot of people have no idea how a newsroom works!

When Charlie Kirk was murdered, I read, and heard some of the most disgusting things in my life. I know the pattern and I know the biggest hypocrites sit on the left. Your parents clearly know that you. Good for them. However, as has been suggested, give Prevent a giggle and report them. Talk to your MP about your concerns, even. I'd be utterly embarrassed for you if this went public. Good luck.

If you have genuine concerns about them, you can contact social services, medics, or the police.

Perhaps at the church then? If they are even remotely church attendees perhaps ask your local vicar/priest about your concerns and whether they can be encouraged to get out and about a bit.

In short my experience is whether it's covid, GB news or other the only solution is to break the cycle and get them out into the real world so they think about something else and have something else to talk about

I voted YANBU because I get exactly where the OP is coming from.
It doesn't mean I'd necessarily do it, but I can completely understand why she wants to.
MIL's the same, but with the Daily Mail. She's absolutely obsessed with "boats."
Doesn't matter what you're talking about, the subject automatically gets turned back round to "them" and how it's "disgusting."
Can't even go out for a nice meal with her in case she spots a hotel over the road and goes off on one of her little rants. (Wish I was joking)

My dad got like this, became impossible for the family to have a normal conversation, he always find an excuse to go off on a ranty tangent. Our last family Xmas dinner together was just him going off on one persistently, while everyone sat there awkwardly or tried to steer the conversation elsewhere. Again, never used to be like this.

The right wing press is a rage factory, because that's how you get working class voters to vote for policies that favor the wealthy.

Should your parents cancel your subscription for The Guardian? You are being very unreasonable.

I watch news channels of every political leaning (including GB News), because I like to get a broad view of the world. I have never heard anyone say that lefties, or anyone else should be killed. Nothing in GB News' content would make your parents so angry, unless something else is going on.

I suspect you might be making this up, because you don't like the right-leaning bias of GB News.

If you can get off your sanctimonious high-horse for a moment, you might consider looking at a broad range of news providers yourself and suggesting to your parents that they do the same.

That way, all of you can benefit from a wider perspective of the real world and why good people believe the things they believe, whether they are right wing or left wing.

Huh? In what world have I started talking about Kirk?

Are you able to have this conversation in good faith?

How patronising!
You are scarily controlling.

Agree with you. Benefit claimants being scroungers will be next. We've already had the homeless being derided.

Yabvu nothing gives you the right to have control over what they watch, if you don't like how they behave when they are watching it, you can control how much time you choose to spend round them, you can control wether or not you walk away when they boot off. You can control yourself and what you do, not other people.

express them in their own home? Sure. Attend public event that promote violence? No. Go round killing people? No.

Good faith responses are only worthy in good faith hypotheses.

I have some views that may be seen as more “right” leaning, I have some that are probably seen as very left.

What I never do is tell people they should be harmed for their political views. This is something you are apparently comfortable with.

Then suggested a diversion for them, encourage them to get out and enjoy their retirement!

You can find it yourself by Googling.

Dr Sara Wilford, De Montfort University, was lead researcher a project called Smidge (Social Media Narratives: Addressing Extremism in Middle Age). Available via SMIDGE and DMU. It actually covered age ranges of both Boomers and Gen X.
ETA: It's actually interesting. Certain demographics are more likely to believe what they read online, not fact check, not believe others evidence of fact checking etc.

People seem to be focusing on the views but - sorry to try and speak for you, @goslowly - I think what the OP is complaining about is the effect those views are having upon them and how they behave rather than the views themselves. Anyone who can only talk about one thing, extreme left views as much as extreme right, can be very difficult to be around. It sounds like the problem is that they focus every conversation around this one thing to the point where normal, broad range of views conversation is impossible. What you are suggesting, looking at varied news providers, is normal and is what allows you to have a normal conversation here about it. What the OP is saying is that her parents can no longer do that. Anyone who focuses there entire life around one single thing is, at best, boring.

Not really no, but then again I'm not a lefty.

also the radicalisation of young teens, young adults, you name it!

So racism/extremism is ok as long as you keep it covered, only expressed if you think you're around like minded people/people who won't call you out in your crap?
No.
Not ok. If everyone keeps silent that's how this shit grows.

It's not about what people believe, its about the loss of ability to have a normal conversation or relationship with them (because they're so wound up by the media they digest, its just angry rant after angry rant, even if you don't engage with it).

I've given up on spending time with my dad. Even if he was angry-ranting on issues where I agreed with him, its just exhausting and unpleasant to be around. He's always been well to the right, but the rage baiting of the modern right wing press has made him ill.

Well if they are so unpleasant to visit why don't you tell them that and cut down your visits or only communicate by phone so you can end the call.if they go off on a rant?

You don't have the moral right to block their news source, however abhorrent it is.

You can't change their behaviour - only yours.