"Voilà, c'est très simple, même enfantin et imbécile, comme vous le voyez. Mais c'est de ce pain empoisonné que la presse immonde nourrit notre pauvre peuple depuis des mois. Et il ne faut pas s'étonner si nous assistons une crise désastreuse, car lorsqu'on sème ce point la sottise et le mensonge, on récolte forcément la démence." -- Émile Zola
"It is very simple, nay childish, if not imbecile. But it is with this poisoned bread that the unclean press has been nourishing our poor people now for months And it is not surprising if we are witnessing a dangerous crisis; for when folly and lies are thus sown broadcast, you necessarily reap insanity." -- Émile Zola (as translated in the London Times)
[Oddly enough, he was not actually talking about Republican talking points and Fox News, though it sure sounds like it. M. Zola (b. 1840-04-02, d. 1902-09-29) delivered these words on 1898-02-22 during his libel trial, which was part of the Dreyfus affair.]