How Fake News Is Becoming Something More

By Noah Levy ’13
EE Managing Editor

“That’s why our show is so successful, because, I don’t know, you guys tell me what you think because, a lot of it we just sort of make up.”

Whom would you attribute a quote like this to? Would it be from The Daily Show, a comedy television program whose writers have stated time and time again that they are not legitimate journalists and their creation is just a silly fake news show? Or would you expect it to be from Fox News’s Gretchen Carlson, the Twenty Four Hour News Network whose slogan is “Fair And Balanced.” Those words did, in fact, come from Carlson’s mouth, much to the supposed dismay of this writer, and many others… right?

Truth is, we are living in a nation where our actual news organizations have become about as reputable (or possibly less) as shows like Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. What’s even stranger? Those shows seem to be transcending the sum of their parts and turning into a real, better, more reputable source of news for Americans. How is this possible?

The answer lies within the major focus of shows like these: Satire. Jon Stewart has stated many times that his show is purely a source of satire and entertainment, and that the writers are not journalists or carry journalistic responsibility.

If this is true, then why are people finding more actual reporting in this fake news program than say, MSNBC? It all comes back to satire. It turns out when you’re making fun of something to prove a point, you really are making something apparent to viewers. Stewart and his writing team not only analyze and satirize current political stories, but also the media institutions that are supposed to be covering them the respectable way, and this is where the show truly shines.

The jokes point out the flaws in the way the channels report the news, and some of the things they point out make you wonder how they were broadcasted in the first place. For example, one of the slogans during the Republican National Convention was “We Built It” in response to a gaffe President Obama made during a speech. So, a large part of the RNC was built on a quote that was taken out of context and had the meaning twisted into a negative connotation.

To illustrate this, Stewart and Correspondent John Oliver got into a conversation about Oliver’s adventures at the convention, where he said he met some women by telling them things that weren’t exactly true. In Oliver’s defense though, he said he was “Changing the meaning of the words to make them fact, much like the Republicans.”  The shows form of satire showcases the cracks in political systems and the people that report on them.

However, the point can still be made that the writers of the show are not journalists, and they repeatedly make that clear. But it’s been shown many times that Stewart does hold some political clout and does know what he’s talking about. If you need any proof, look at his October 2004 appearance on the CNN debate program Crossfire, a show where pundits from both the Right and Left argue about current events. Stewart was supposed to be on mainly to promote America: The Book, but the shows hosts asked him why his interview questions were so basic. Stewart retaliated brutally, first stating that he is not a Journalist and had no responsibility to conduct hard-hitting interviews, and then ripped into Crossfire itself, calling it “Partisan hackery” that reduced news coverage of important issues to a series of talking points from both Political extremes. It was probably no coincidence that Crossfire was cancelled three months later, with even CNN’s CEO saying he sympathized with Stewart’s criticism of the program. Stewart has also publicly criticized CNBC, among other news organizations.

From this alone, you might believe The Daily Show is just as biased as any other news program. And while the show does seem to lean toward Liberalism, it’s not afraid to take shots at the party. If you want obvious satirical bias though, you need to turn to one Stephen T. Colbert for that. The Colbert Report spun off from The Daily Show in 2005 and is hosted by Stephen Colbert. Not the real Stephen Colbert mind you, but the character he created during his time as a Correspondent on Stewart’s program. Colbert’s character is unashamedly, blatantly Conservative. And that’s the whole point.

Colbert in real life is a Democrat, but the performance he puts on is one of a “Well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot”, a parody of Right Wing pundits like Bill O’Reilly. His normal actions include always agreeing with Fox News and Republicans, criticizing the “Lamestream Liberal Media”, and elevating his opinion up to the word of God.

It’s through all this that his real views shine through, as his criticism of Conservatives are cleverly disguised as criticism for Liberals. This can sometimes make Colbert’s satire even more biting than Stewart’s. Once again, through satire and humor are how we can really see what the world is like, and nobody does it better than the people at these shows.

It doesn’t take a CNN Reporter to realize that our country is not in great shape. It also doesn’t necessarily take a Fox News Correspondent to point fingers at someone or something for it. But maybe the reason programs like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have transcended their original intentions is because the best way to deal with the political problems that face us every day is to just laugh at them. While it might be worrisome to think that our fake news is gaining more legitimacy than our real ones, we can all take comfort in the fact that whatever problems may face our nation, there will always be someone to make fun of it. And who knows? He’s probably right.