Collusion In Comedy: Late Night Hosts Feast On Fake News Over Facts

Fake news is no laughing matter.

It robs us of knowledge, forges false narratives and diminishes trust in journalism.

Sadly, many late-night comedians feast on fake news. Theyre not willing to wait for fact checks or other journalistic staples. And theyve been feasting on it for years, especially stories tied to President Donald Trump.

The comedians in question show no signs of stopping nor any remorse for their actions. They probably cant wait for the next fake news cycle to commence. Being a late-night propagandist means never having to say youre sorry.

Its an unholy alliance. Journalists share wobbly news stories and comedians turn them into partisan punch lines. And, as a result, faulty narratives make their way into the public conscience.

The latest example shows how late-night comics and crooked reporters work hand-in-glove to creative narratives to attack the Right.

Last summer, the FBI raided Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate seeking classified documents he allegedly took from his presidential days. News outlets breathlessly suggested the documents included nuclear secrets, the kind of information that could put American security at risk if Trump peddled them to the highest bidder.

The walls, at long last, were closing in on the real estate mogul.

Late night comics simultaneously pounced and seized, brimming with outrage over the incident. The Late Show found host Stephen Colbert blasting Trump as committing a menage a treason.

How do you explain this to our allies!? Dont worry, Prime Minister, your countrys nuclear secrets are perfectly safe, stored at the Mar-a-Lago waffle bar, between the syrup and the Nutella bucket.

Jimmy Kimmel joined in, naturally .

The only people who are allowed to see them are the president of the United States and a few highly cleared members of his council and anyone who goes into Trumps closet looking for a broom, I guess.

Trevor Noah of The Daily Show fame said Trump would have to flee the country to avoid prosecution over the nuclear details.

I mean, hes the guy who wanted to build the wall, he explained, and now hes going to need to sneak into Mexico. Karmas a b****!

Now, were learning the documents in question were tied to Trumps ego , not nuclear details ready to be sold on the open market.

The investigation is ongoing, and the facts may later change, but as of now the breathless reporting (and endless late-night yuks) proved less than accurate.

Its hardly the biggest example of the late night/fake news connection. Audiences suffered through several years of the Russian collusion story across media headlines. And, at the same time, the late-night comics tore into the narrative.

Monologue after monologue, skit after skit, attacked Trump for treasonously conspiring with Russia to win the 2016 election.

None did so as aggressively as Colbert, who famously called the President Vladimir Putins c*** holster in one of late nights most vulgar cracks ever.

We now know its all a fraud, one which the correctly named Deep State had a hand in perpetrating. So wheres the late night mea culpas?

Team Late Night also jumped on Cassidy Hutchinsons claims that Trump attempted to physically attack a Secret Service driver to swerve the vehicle toward the January 6 protests which later became violent.

The media had a feeding frenzy over the story, and Hutchinsons testimony spoke to late night TVs partisan biases.

Once again, comedians didnt wait for the facts. They wanted the clapter, the fawning response from liberals in the studio audience, and they couldnt be bothered.

The basement-rated Trevor Noah offered fake praise for Trumps instincts during the alleged fracas.

fighting your own Secret Service agent is kind of genius on Trumps part, because hes hitting the one person who cant hit back.

Colbert said the story would make a great season premiere of Kleptocrats in Cars Seizing Power.

The assembled comics didnt wait to hear the rest of the story.

Notably, not one but two primary sources refuted her claims. The person who allegedly told her the story denies sharing it, and the Secret Service agent Trump allegedly man-handled offered to testify it never happened.

The matter eventually went away, with news outlets disinterested in following Hutchinsons narrative.

Even smaller fake news stories get turned into late night wisecracks. In 2019, media outlets suggested President Trump had gutted the Meals on Wheels program , a charitable effort designed to feed those who cant get food on their own.

The host of Late Night with Seth Meyers raged against Trump and the decision.

Old people voted for you. Your key demographics were old people and older people. They believed you when you said you cared about them. Theres nothing more low-life than lying to the elderly. You should know that. Youre 70.

Except less than 3% of the programs funding comes from federal funding. So the media and Meyers grossly misrepresented the facts to smite Trump.

Again.

News outlets should go back and update incorrect news stories. The corrections section is a venerable part of journalism, a necessary feature given how even the best reporters can make mistakes.

Were seeing very little of that happening with the current wave of fake news. Has any major outlet offered a voluminous explanation for the collusion hoax?

And, of course, late-night comics wont be held responsible for their false narratives.

Its just a joke, they say. Too bad theyre punching down on the American experiment in the process.

Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor ofHollywoodInToto.com.He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News Big Hollywood. Follow him at@HollywoodInToto.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.