Has Fake News Become the Real News? [1]
Submitted by Anne Landman [2] on
An article in the New York Times asks whether Jon Stewart [3] of Comedy Central's Daily Show [4] has become the most trusted man in America, pointing out that his fake news comedy show has emerged in recent years as a "genuine cultural and political force." While 24-hour news networks like FOX, MSNBC and CNN have been pumping out infotainment-style news about topics like dead celebrities and sexual predators, the Daily Show has been critically tracking the cherry-picking of prewar intelligence, the politicization of the Department of Justice [5] and the efforts of the Bush Administration [6] to increase the power of the executive branch. Stewart has proven to be a master at calling out government and corporate spin, hypocrisy and red herrings, and helping his audience see them, too. A 2008 study from the Project for Excellence in Journalism [7] at the Pew Research Enter for the People and the Press [8] found that the Daily Show has had an impact on American dialogue and that it is "getting people to think critically about the public square."