Here’s a clear side-by-side comparison of Thompson-style Gonzo vs modern partisan media (like Fox News):

Feature	Hunter S. Thompson (Gonzo)	Fox-style Partisan Media
Purpose	Reveal deeper truths about culture, politics, and power	Promote a specific ideological viewpoint / reinforce audience beliefs
Perspective	First-person, immersed, self-aware; admits bias	Point-of-view driven, often pretending neutrality while shaping narrative
Relationship to facts	Facts may be exaggerated or dramatized, but aim is to reveal truth	Facts selectively reported, spun, or omitted to fit agenda
Emotional tone	Satirical, chaotic, often angry or absurd	Persuasive, emotional, sometimes fear-inducing or moralizing
Audience effect	Encourages reflection, skepticism, and critical thinking	Encourages alignment, loyalty, and confirmation of beliefs
Risk to credibility	Lost with traditional institutions because of style, but truth is often more profound	Maintains institutional credibility for partisan followers, but at cost of objectivity
Ethical stance	Anti-establishment; aims to expose corruption or hypocrisy	Pro-establishment or ideological; aims to defend or attack sides strategically
Outcome	Reader sees how the world feels and functions, even if narrative is wild	Viewer sees what side is “right” or “under attack”, often without full context

Key insight: Thompson’s chaos serves truth, while partisan media chaos serves persuasion. The form might look similar—emotive, opinionated, dramatic—but the intent and end result are radically different.