Stephen Colbert:
(Inquisitor, 2012)
Episode link: http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/6mpwy3/isis-militants-in-iraq
Episode link: http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/6mpwy3/isis-militants-in-iraq
Fact #1: ISIS is the
richest terror organization in the world and is valued at $2 billion.
True:
According to NBC News “Al Qaeda-linked insurgents who
overran large parts of the north of the country earlier this week also seized
about $450 million during a bank heist, Mosul Mayor Athier Nujaifi told NBC
News. That makes the Islamic
State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) the world's richest terrorist group”
(Engel, Plesser, & Bruton, 2014). In December 2014 Forbes.com listed some of the richest terrorist organizations
and at the top of its list was ISIS (Zehorai, 2014).
Forbes.com also listed ISIS with an “annual turnover” of $2 billion. NBC News
also supports the claim that ISIS is worth $2 billion (NBC News, 2014).
Fact #2: ISIS recruited
fighters from other militant groups offering to triple salaries up to $400 a
month.
Barely True:
The information found on this claim confirms a man
named Mustafa received up to $400 a month for joining ISIS, but no one else
has been reported to have received the same amount. According to a New York
Times “At the beginning of the uprising, Mustafa had fought with Abou Sfouk’s
brigade, but he joined the Islamist group early last year, when it entered
Syria from Iraq, because it offered to triple his salary, starting him at $400
a month” (Cambanis, 2014). According to another New York Times article an ISIS recruit from Turkey was offered a
different amount. “When you fight, they offer $150 a day. Then everything else
is free,” he said. “Even the shopkeepers give you free products out of fear” (Yeginsu, 2014). Taking an average 30 day month and times it by $150 a day the monthly grand
total is $4,500. On NBC News King Abdullah II of Jordan said “ISIS militants are
paying foreign fighters $1,000 a month” (McClam, 2014).
Fact #3: American
contractors forced to evacuate and militants continue to march toward Baghdad
True:
There are multiple news sources that confirm that this did
indeed happen. Wnd.com reports “A U.S.
contractor in Iraq told WND the Iraqi Air Force has begun evacuations from
Balad Air Force Base, where 200 American contractors were trapped by the
al-Qaida-inspired jihadists who have seized control of two cities and are now
threatening Baghdad” (Corsi, 2014).
Further, according to theguardian.com “US
contractors are evacuating a
base near Baghdad” (Davidson, Weaver, Yuhas, Jalabi, & Walker, 2014). Foxnews.com also reports that “Heavily armed ISIS forces (The Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant/Syria) pushed Friday into a province northeast of Baghdad,
capturing two towns there after having already toppled cities in the country¹s
north” (Fox News, 2014).
Fact #4: ISIS
better armed than the national armies of Syria and Iraq
Kind of True:
The truth issue here is more a problem of wording than
anything else. According to the New York Times, in reference to ISIS, “Its
members are better paid, better trained and better armed than even the national
armies of Syria and Iraq, Sheikh Hassan said" (Cambanis, 2014). On commondreams.org it is written that “The
Islamic State (Isis) has recruited an army hundreds of thousands strong, far
larger than previous estimates by the CIA, according to a senior Kurdish
leader. He said the ability of Isis to attack on many widely separated fronts
in Iraq and Syria at the same time shows that the number of militant fighters
is at least 200,000, seven or eight times bigger than foreign in intelligence
estimates of up to 31,500 men” (Cockburn, 2014).
SMELL Test:
Sources - Colbert uses sources such as ABC News, Fox News, CNN, The New York Times, MSNBC, etc. While Colbert does not cite these sources verbatim, he does show clips that clearly display these news sources’ logos so the audience is aware of where the information is coming from. None of the sources are anonymus and all of them are clearly identified as being from somewhere.
Motive: The
motivation of this clip is mainly to entertain but also to inform. It is
infotainment, which John McManus describes in his book Detecting Bull: How to Identify Bias and Junk Journalism in Print, Broadcast and on the Wild Web as “entertainment posing as news”
(P. 163).
Evidence: Colbert's evidence are his sources, which are the various news and media outlets mentioned above, and his own opinion. The news sources are used to validate Colbert's own opinion the majority of the time.
Evidence: Colbert's evidence are his sources, which are the various news and media outlets mentioned above, and his own opinion. The news sources are used to validate Colbert's own opinion the majority of the time.
Logic: This clip contains the logical media failure that John McManus calls lack of context (McManus, 2009). The problems of this can be found in more detail below in the "left-out" section. It seems that the main logic
Left-out: The
biggest thing left out is context. The clips that Colbert shows are just
that-clips. They are taken out of the segment in which they originally aired
and used in the show. Unless viewers are familiar with the whole segment from
which the clips were taken they can’t fully understand the context to know if
it is true or not.
Jon Stewart
(Kakutani, 2008)
Fact #1: We don’t have a strategy against ISIS.
“Our President has spent the past few weeks working on a strategy to replace our strategy of not having a strategy.”
True:
Colbert claimed that Obama didn’t have a strategy regarding ISIS. This is true and several news sources back it up. According to the Washington Times “President Obama acknowledged Thursday he doesn’t have a plan for defeating Islamist militants in Syria” (Boyer, 2014). Further, Fox News writes “President Obama is facing intense criticism for admitting Thursday "we don't have a strategy yet" for dealing with Islamic State militants in Syria, despite warnings from top military advisers and others that the group must be confronted on that side of the border” (Fox News, 2014). CNN also quotes Obama as saying "We don't have a strategy yet” (Carter, Shoichet, & Alkhshali, 2014).
Fact #2: That the U.S. will conduct airstrikes against ISIS
“First we will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists.”
True:
This statement, which is from President Obama’s September 9th speech, is true and not taken out of context. According to CNN.com “Obama announced an escalated U.S. military role as part of a strategy that includes building an international coalition to support Iraqi ground forces and perhaps troops from other allies. U.S. airstrikes have been hitting the jihadists in Iraq. Those strikes will be expanded to ISIS targets in Syria, Obama said” (Cohen, 2014). Further, the Huffington Post reports that “President Barack Obama addressed the nation Wednesday night, setting out a long-term strategy for defeating the Islamic State -- the militant group formerly known as ISIS or ISIL -- that includes authorizing U.S. airstrikes against the group in Syria. ’We will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists. Working with the Iraqi government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions, so that we’re hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on offense,’ Obama said in remarks as prepared for delivery” (Lavender, 2014). However, Obama’s statement wasn’t full of empty words. According to ABC News the airstrikes actually happened at the end of September. “The United States launched several airstrikes against ISIS targets inside Syria for the first time late Monday in what a defense official said was a "successful" start in a new front in the battle against the terror group and, separately, in potentially averting an imminent threat to the homeland from a shadowy al Qaeda group” (Raddatz, Martinez, & Ferran, 2014).
Fact #3: Taking out terrorists against us and support of frontlines has been successful for years in Yemen and Somalia
Kind of True (depending how you view it):
This is a difficult fact to completely prove one way or another. Success can be rather subjective, though if one is to base the truth by the following news sources it would be partially true. “He meant to impress upon US politicians what he called the “psychological fear and terror” Yemenis feel from a campaign the Obama administration is now citing as a model for its unfolding war against Islamic State (Isis)” (Ackerman, 2014). Further, NPR.org writes "This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years." (Peralta).
Fact #4: 65 Percent of Americans support air strikes in Syria
Practically True:
The poll from which this is taken from is one the Washington Post conducted which supports the claim that 65 percent of people who took the poll supported air strikes in Syria. (Washington Post, 2014). Of course the Washington Post supports its own claim by stating in the following “65 percent — say they support the potentially more controversial action of launching airstrikes in Syria, which Obama has not done” (Balz & Craighill, 2014). However, pbs.org also supported this, writing “Asked whether they favored, opposed or neither favored nor opposed the airstrikes, 65 percent said they favored the strikes in Syria” (Riechmann & Agiesta, 2014). ABC News also concurred with the previous statements “65 percent also said they’d support extending those strikes to Syria” (Langer, 2014). However, it is worth pointing out that the reason this fact did not get completely true is because there is no guarantee that all of America took this poll (and chances are, they did not). This means that the claim that 65 percent of Americans support air strikes in Syria is technically false.
President Obama speech references:
This clip references President Obama's September 9th, 2014 speech regarding ISIS. Two of the facts that were checked were referenced in Obama's speech. They are the claim of conducting a systematic campaign of airstrikes against ISIS and the claim that taking out terrorists against the U.S. and supporting the frontlines has been successful for years in Yemen and Somalia.
Source - The sources Stewart uses are news sources such as Fox News, Washington Post, ABC News and the Pew Research Center (just to name a few). He also uses his own thoughts and opinions, using them to both support the news sources and to elaborate on what they wrote. Direct clips from Obama's speeches were also used as sources as well.
Motive - Much like Colbert’s motivation, Stewart’s is infotainment. The goal here is mainly to entertain the audience while informing them along the way. In the first part of the clip Stewart's motivation is to prove his own claim that the President has spent the past few weeks working on a strategy to replace our strategy of not having a strategy (fact checked above).
Evidence - The evidence Colbert provided is similar to his sources. He uses news sources and his own opinion. He also uses numbers and polls, as shown in the claim that 65 percent of Americans support air strikes in Syria.
Logic - The logic of this clip is largely used to support Colbert's starting claim that Obama does not have a strategy against ISIS.
Left Out - Much like what was left out in the Colbert clip what is left out in Stewart’s is context. The viewer is shown various news clips that have been put together in a montage. Once agian this takes away from the context of what was being said. Also, in alot of cases the other side's opinion was left out.
Fact #1: Foreigners looking to join ISIS traveling by cruise ships to avoid airplane security.
True:
This claim is true and is verified by many news sources. According to NBC News “Would-be jihadi fighters are increasingly booking tickets on cruise ships to join extremists in battle zones in Syria and Iraq, hoping to bypass stepped-up efforts to thwart them in neighboring Turkey, Interpol officials have told The Associated Press” (The Associated Press, 2014). Time.com reports that “Interpol says foreigners seeking to join Islamist militant groups are beginning to take cruise ships to their war-torn destinations rather than go through airports, where the security is comparatively much tighter” (Barber, 2014). According to NY Daily News “‘Because they know the airports are monitored more closely now, there’s a use of cruise ships to travel to those areas,’ said Pierre St. Hilaire, director of counterterrorism at Interpol” (Schapiro, 2014).
Fact #2: Obama said no boots on the ground.
False:
The truth of this claim is subjective and for the sake of this analysis we will look at if Obama actually said no boots on the ground and then see if he actually kept his word or not. At face value Obama did indeed say no boots on the ground according to the Huffington Post “‘As President Barack Obama gives a national address Wednesday evening on how he intends to destroy the Islamic State (ISIS) without putting American "boots on the ground,’” (Wood, 2014). However, according to the following sources he didn’t keep his word. According to the Guardian.com “Barack Obama has authorized the doubling of US troop levels in Iraq for the war against Islamic State (Isis) militants, further straining his pledge against “boots on the ground” (Ackerman & McCarthy, 2014). CBS News verifies that Obama did indeed make that statement by writing “President Obama on Wednesday night put forward a plan to destroy the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) that was short on details but included one clear assurance: The effort "will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil” (Condon, 2014).
Fact #3: Amount of military from summer has grown from 275 to 3100
Kind of True:
Nowhere has it been factually stated that the military in Iraq has grown from 275 to 3100. Instead the number 275 has been in reference to the amount of troops Obama was deploying to Iraq. According to the Guardian.com
“The Obama administration has ordered the urgent deployment of several hundred armed troops in and around Iraq, after the rampant insurgency in the country forced the first talks between the US and Iran over a common security interest in more than a decade. Barack Obama discussed the crisis with national security team on Monday night after earlier notifying Congress that up to 275 troops could be sent to Iraq to provide support and security for personnel and the US embassy in Baghdad” (Lewis, Ackerman, & Dehghan, 2014).
Further, buisnessinsider.com states “President Barack Obama is sending 275 U.S. troops to Iraq to "provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad" in the wake of territorial gains made by the jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS)” (Walker, 2014). The Washington Post also backs this view “President Obama is sending up to 275 military personnel to Iraq for security and support, the White House said Monday” (Zezima, 2014). This information was claimed to have come from the Department of Defense. However, this information was either privy, nonexistent or extremely difficult to find as we were unable to find it.
Fact #4: Troops in Iraq to act as advisors
True:
According to Fox News “The White House acknowledged Wednesday that President Obama would consider putting U.S. troops in "forward-deployed positions" to advise Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State -- even while insisting U.S. troops would not be sent back into a "combat role" in Iraq” (Foxnews.com, 2014). According to the New York Post “President Obama told US troops Wednesday he would not commit them fight in another ground war in Iraq – but then hours later the White House said Obama would consider requests to “forward deploy” troops as advisers to Iraqi forces” (Earle, 2014). The LA Times writes “American forces ‘do not and will not have a combat mission,” Obama told troops at the U.S. Central Command headquarters here. “They will support Iraqi forces on the ground as they fight for their own country against these terrorists’” (Parsons, 2014).
Source: The sources of this clip are Stewart’s opinions and the various news sources that were cited, referenced to and used. Further, Stewart uses quotes and numbers as sources as well. ABC News, MSNBC, President Obama's speech, NBC and the U.S. Department of Defense. It's worth noting that some of the sources are not made clear to the audience.
Motive: At this point it can be established that these three satire clips are infotainment. However, it is rather interesting that it seems as if Colbert is almost trying to showcase the flaws of Obama’s plans. This certainly could be another motivation, on top of infotainment, of this clip. Colbert's motive is also to persuade his audience to agree with his view, something that is made clear through how he uses his sources to support his position.
Evidence: The evidence Stewart used were the sources mentioned above. He also uses numbers and statistics along with providing the audience with the name of reliable sources (the U.S. Department of Defense for instance).
Logic: The logic of this clip is largely to support and prove the claims that Colbert provides (either his own or those of his sources). Colbert also uses overgeneralizations, though it's worth noting that they are used mainly to get laughs from the audience. There are also innuendos and implied facts.
Left out: Once again context is left out. Between the fast cuts between several news clips in a short amount of time and the lack of context a lot is left to the audience to figure out. As stated in the sources area, some of the sources aren't made fully known to the viewer.
Conclusion:
The truth value of the various news sources we are subjected to everyday is worth our time to evaluate. Even sources such as satire shows, which have more truth and facts than one would expect, are still subject to bias. Perhaps more so than their news counterparts as the point of their shows are to entertain first and foremost. Satire shows seem to overall be entertaining ways that we can receive our news, though we must be careful to take each claim at face value.
Bibliography:
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Zezima, K. (2014, June 16). Obama to deploy up to 275 military personnel in Iraq. Retrieved February 22, 2015, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/06/16/obama-to-deploy-up-to-275-military-personnel-in-iraq/
Jon Stewart
(Kakutani, 2008)
Fact #1: We don’t have a strategy against ISIS.
“Our President has spent the past few weeks working on a strategy to replace our strategy of not having a strategy.”
True:
Colbert claimed that Obama didn’t have a strategy regarding ISIS. This is true and several news sources back it up. According to the Washington Times “President Obama acknowledged Thursday he doesn’t have a plan for defeating Islamist militants in Syria” (Boyer, 2014). Further, Fox News writes “President Obama is facing intense criticism for admitting Thursday "we don't have a strategy yet" for dealing with Islamic State militants in Syria, despite warnings from top military advisers and others that the group must be confronted on that side of the border” (Fox News, 2014). CNN also quotes Obama as saying "We don't have a strategy yet” (Carter, Shoichet, & Alkhshali, 2014).
Fact #2: That the U.S. will conduct airstrikes against ISIS
“First we will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists.”
True:
This statement, which is from President Obama’s September 9th speech, is true and not taken out of context. According to CNN.com “Obama announced an escalated U.S. military role as part of a strategy that includes building an international coalition to support Iraqi ground forces and perhaps troops from other allies. U.S. airstrikes have been hitting the jihadists in Iraq. Those strikes will be expanded to ISIS targets in Syria, Obama said” (Cohen, 2014). Further, the Huffington Post reports that “President Barack Obama addressed the nation Wednesday night, setting out a long-term strategy for defeating the Islamic State -- the militant group formerly known as ISIS or ISIL -- that includes authorizing U.S. airstrikes against the group in Syria. ’We will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists. Working with the Iraqi government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions, so that we’re hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on offense,’ Obama said in remarks as prepared for delivery” (Lavender, 2014). However, Obama’s statement wasn’t full of empty words. According to ABC News the airstrikes actually happened at the end of September. “The United States launched several airstrikes against ISIS targets inside Syria for the first time late Monday in what a defense official said was a "successful" start in a new front in the battle against the terror group and, separately, in potentially averting an imminent threat to the homeland from a shadowy al Qaeda group” (Raddatz, Martinez, & Ferran, 2014).
Fact #3: Taking out terrorists against us and support of frontlines has been successful for years in Yemen and Somalia
Kind of True (depending how you view it):
This is a difficult fact to completely prove one way or another. Success can be rather subjective, though if one is to base the truth by the following news sources it would be partially true. “He meant to impress upon US politicians what he called the “psychological fear and terror” Yemenis feel from a campaign the Obama administration is now citing as a model for its unfolding war against Islamic State (Isis)” (Ackerman, 2014). Further, NPR.org writes "This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years." (Peralta).
Fact #4: 65 Percent of Americans support air strikes in Syria
Practically True:
The poll from which this is taken from is one the Washington Post conducted which supports the claim that 65 percent of people who took the poll supported air strikes in Syria. (Washington Post, 2014). Of course the Washington Post supports its own claim by stating in the following “65 percent — say they support the potentially more controversial action of launching airstrikes in Syria, which Obama has not done” (Balz & Craighill, 2014). However, pbs.org also supported this, writing “Asked whether they favored, opposed or neither favored nor opposed the airstrikes, 65 percent said they favored the strikes in Syria” (Riechmann & Agiesta, 2014). ABC News also concurred with the previous statements “65 percent also said they’d support extending those strikes to Syria” (Langer, 2014). However, it is worth pointing out that the reason this fact did not get completely true is because there is no guarantee that all of America took this poll (and chances are, they did not). This means that the claim that 65 percent of Americans support air strikes in Syria is technically false.
President Obama speech references:
This clip references President Obama's September 9th, 2014 speech regarding ISIS. Two of the facts that were checked were referenced in Obama's speech. They are the claim of conducting a systematic campaign of airstrikes against ISIS and the claim that taking out terrorists against the U.S. and supporting the frontlines has been successful for years in Yemen and Somalia.
SMELL Test:
Motive - Much like Colbert’s motivation, Stewart’s is infotainment. The goal here is mainly to entertain the audience while informing them along the way. In the first part of the clip Stewart's motivation is to prove his own claim that the President has spent the past few weeks working on a strategy to replace our strategy of not having a strategy (fact checked above).
Evidence - The evidence Colbert provided is similar to his sources. He uses news sources and his own opinion. He also uses numbers and polls, as shown in the claim that 65 percent of Americans support air strikes in Syria.
Logic - The logic of this clip is largely used to support Colbert's starting claim that Obama does not have a strategy against ISIS.
Left Out - Much like what was left out in the Colbert clip what is left out in Stewart’s is context. The viewer is shown various news clips that have been put together in a montage. Once agian this takes away from the context of what was being said. Also, in alot of cases the other side's opinion was left out.
Daily Show/Jon Stewart on 3rd Iraq War
(Deadline, 2010)
Fact #1: Foreigners looking to join ISIS traveling by cruise ships to avoid airplane security.
True:
This claim is true and is verified by many news sources. According to NBC News “Would-be jihadi fighters are increasingly booking tickets on cruise ships to join extremists in battle zones in Syria and Iraq, hoping to bypass stepped-up efforts to thwart them in neighboring Turkey, Interpol officials have told The Associated Press” (The Associated Press, 2014). Time.com reports that “Interpol says foreigners seeking to join Islamist militant groups are beginning to take cruise ships to their war-torn destinations rather than go through airports, where the security is comparatively much tighter” (Barber, 2014). According to NY Daily News “‘Because they know the airports are monitored more closely now, there’s a use of cruise ships to travel to those areas,’ said Pierre St. Hilaire, director of counterterrorism at Interpol” (Schapiro, 2014).
Fact #2: Obama said no boots on the ground.
False:
The truth of this claim is subjective and for the sake of this analysis we will look at if Obama actually said no boots on the ground and then see if he actually kept his word or not. At face value Obama did indeed say no boots on the ground according to the Huffington Post “‘As President Barack Obama gives a national address Wednesday evening on how he intends to destroy the Islamic State (ISIS) without putting American "boots on the ground,’” (Wood, 2014). However, according to the following sources he didn’t keep his word. According to the Guardian.com “Barack Obama has authorized the doubling of US troop levels in Iraq for the war against Islamic State (Isis) militants, further straining his pledge against “boots on the ground” (Ackerman & McCarthy, 2014). CBS News verifies that Obama did indeed make that statement by writing “President Obama on Wednesday night put forward a plan to destroy the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) that was short on details but included one clear assurance: The effort "will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil” (Condon, 2014).
Fact #3: Amount of military from summer has grown from 275 to 3100
Kind of True:
Nowhere has it been factually stated that the military in Iraq has grown from 275 to 3100. Instead the number 275 has been in reference to the amount of troops Obama was deploying to Iraq. According to the Guardian.com
“The Obama administration has ordered the urgent deployment of several hundred armed troops in and around Iraq, after the rampant insurgency in the country forced the first talks between the US and Iran over a common security interest in more than a decade. Barack Obama discussed the crisis with national security team on Monday night after earlier notifying Congress that up to 275 troops could be sent to Iraq to provide support and security for personnel and the US embassy in Baghdad” (Lewis, Ackerman, & Dehghan, 2014).
Further, buisnessinsider.com states “President Barack Obama is sending 275 U.S. troops to Iraq to "provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad" in the wake of territorial gains made by the jihadist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS)” (Walker, 2014). The Washington Post also backs this view “President Obama is sending up to 275 military personnel to Iraq for security and support, the White House said Monday” (Zezima, 2014). This information was claimed to have come from the Department of Defense. However, this information was either privy, nonexistent or extremely difficult to find as we were unable to find it.
Fact #4: Troops in Iraq to act as advisors
True:
According to Fox News “The White House acknowledged Wednesday that President Obama would consider putting U.S. troops in "forward-deployed positions" to advise Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State -- even while insisting U.S. troops would not be sent back into a "combat role" in Iraq” (Foxnews.com, 2014). According to the New York Post “President Obama told US troops Wednesday he would not commit them fight in another ground war in Iraq – but then hours later the White House said Obama would consider requests to “forward deploy” troops as advisers to Iraqi forces” (Earle, 2014). The LA Times writes “American forces ‘do not and will not have a combat mission,” Obama told troops at the U.S. Central Command headquarters here. “They will support Iraqi forces on the ground as they fight for their own country against these terrorists’” (Parsons, 2014).
SMELL Test:
Motive: At this point it can be established that these three satire clips are infotainment. However, it is rather interesting that it seems as if Colbert is almost trying to showcase the flaws of Obama’s plans. This certainly could be another motivation, on top of infotainment, of this clip. Colbert's motive is also to persuade his audience to agree with his view, something that is made clear through how he uses his sources to support his position.
Evidence: The evidence Stewart used were the sources mentioned above. He also uses numbers and statistics along with providing the audience with the name of reliable sources (the U.S. Department of Defense for instance).
Logic: The logic of this clip is largely to support and prove the claims that Colbert provides (either his own or those of his sources). Colbert also uses overgeneralizations, though it's worth noting that they are used mainly to get laughs from the audience. There are also innuendos and implied facts.
Left out: Once again context is left out. Between the fast cuts between several news clips in a short amount of time and the lack of context a lot is left to the audience to figure out. As stated in the sources area, some of the sources aren't made fully known to the viewer.
Conclusion:
The truth value of the various news sources we are subjected to everyday is worth our time to evaluate. Even sources such as satire shows, which have more truth and facts than one would expect, are still subject to bias. Perhaps more so than their news counterparts as the point of their shows are to entertain first and foremost. Satire shows seem to overall be entertaining ways that we can receive our news, though we must be careful to take each claim at face value.
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