Why We Need Jon Stewart Right Now
For all his faults, Jon Stewart recognizes the true threat of right wing media.
by Ben Cohen
Jon Stewart’s return to The Daily Show has been a mixed bag. As Bob Cesca noted, on his first show back, Stewart spent a ridiculous amount of time claiming “Trump and Biden are basically the same – equally feeble and incompetent - that Biden, in particular, deserves more scrutiny for some reason, despite Trump’s endless roster of crimes, indignities, lies, scams, and promises of dictatorship.”
Perhaps in response to the scathing critiques Stewart pivoted in his next appearance by doing what he does best: going after right wing blowhards. His show last week was particularly gratifying given the subject of his outrage was his old foe Tucker Carlson.
Stewart masterfully tore apart Carlson’s interview with Vladimir Putin earlier this month, exposing the true intentions behind his visit to Moscow. Contrary to Carlson’s assertion that he was conducting the interview because “we’re in journalism,” Stewart called it a masterclass in “world class fealty to power.”
Stewart had a powerful theory as to why Carlson interview Putin specifically. “It's because the old civilizational battle was communism versus capitalism,” Stewart argued. “That what drove the world since World War II. Russia was the enemy then, but now they think the battle is woke versus unwoke.”
“And in that fight, Putin is an ally to the right. He's their friend. Unfortunately, he is also a brutal and ruthless dictator. So now they have to make Americans a little more comfortable with that.”
Stewart’s disembowelment of Carlson wasn’t just about the man who said he looked “like a guy who lives in the men’s room at your public library, eating imaginary insects out of the air.” Stewart was clearly enjoying himself, but it was a more a warning to America about a terrifying trend in the media.
The new “journalism”
With the explosion of self publishing and the ability to build lean, profitable media businesses, many enterprising content creators are making significant amounts of money. It isn’t an easy game, but charismatic influencers have found a lot of success gaming social media algorithms with controversial content.
Figures like Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson, Russell Brand, Lex Fridman, Glenn Greenwald, Dave Rubin and now Tucker Carlson have mastered Youtube and Twitter algorithms with slickly produced content designed specifically to go viral:
Once called ‘The Dark Web’, this network of Alt influencers now represents a major power center in the media ecosystem that is anything but what it claims to be.
The power of conspiracy
Online publishers found out very early on that the more controversial the topic, the more viral it goes. This created a perverse incentive structure that rewarded the worst kind of content — a structure social media networks attempted to curb after the disaster of the 2016 election. Facebook demonetized thousands of publishers, Twitter clamped down on disinformation, and Youtube kicked off anyone promoting conspiracy theories of disinformation.
This worked for a while, but a confluence of forces have shifted power back towards the conspiracy theorists. The growing ethno-nationalist movement under Donald Trump combined with an explosion of new social media networks, self publishing platforms, and Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter have moved the goal posts back to pre-2016.
Trump has ensured the fictional reality where he won the 2020 election still lives in Alt media circles, and Twitter/Rumble/Truthsocial etc, are firehoses of algorithmically rewarded conspiratorial garbage. Thanks to Elon Musk, Twitter now lends a veneer of credibility to some of the most appalling characters in media. Tucker Carlson for example, has built a new prime time show on top of Twitter.
This means that the 2024 election faces new, potentially more dangerous misinformation campaigns that pose a real threat to our democracy.
The Alt ecosystems
The top media influencers (or “journalists”) have created informal but very powerful mini-networks on top of social media platforms. They continually interview each other to ensure maximum exposure, making their combined reach that surpasses the the mainstream news media. They have their own source of followers and income and exist comfortably entirely outside of the mainstream.
When you look at the content most of these influencers create, it centers around a idea that the mainstream media is lying to you. Russell Brand’s rape accusations? A coordinated media attack to stop him telling the truth about Ukraine. Tucker Carlson’s new show dedicated to spreading right wing misinformation? In his own words:
“At the most basic level, the news you consume is a lie, a lie of the stealthiest and most insidious kind. Facts have been withheld on purpose along with proportion and perspective. You are being manipulated.”
Up is down, left is right, and only we are telling you the truth.
The real agenda
While the top influencer “journalists” are marketing themselves as brave truth tellers questioning mainstream narratives, the reality, as Jon Stewart highlighted, is the exact opposite.
What Tucker Carlson, Jordan Peterson, Dave Rubin etc, etc are really doing is paving the way for an insidious form of modern fascism. They promote far right talking points designed to fuel the culture wars and distract their audiences from real issues. Instead of reporting on issues like climate change, poverty, and the deep inequality built into modern capitalism, Alt influencers want you to focus on trans bathrooms, Jan. 6th conspiracy theories, and Democratic Deep State plots to demonize Russia.
Tucker Carlson interviewed Vladimir Putin to help fuel the culture wars back at home. His “journalism” was done with the explicit intent to lie about modern Russia and smear his own country. He told his audience that visiting a grocery store in Moscow made him “legitimately angry” and “radicalized” him against his own country (ie. the Democrats). He urged his viewers to do the same, deliberately ignoring brutal reality of life in Putin’s Russia.
In response to Stewart’s humiliation, Carlson hit back in the most Orwellian way imaginable.
“He [Stewart] is really a tool of the regime in a sinister way, always has been,” Carlson said in an interview this week.
I’m not a tool of the regime, you are.
The real choice
According to Carlson and his fellow Alt influencers, the situation in America under the Democrats is so dire, the only choice they have is to vote in Donald Trump. Otherwise it means forced vaccinations, a global nuclear war, and the transing of your kids. Just as they are victims of mainstream manipulation, so is Donald Trump.
The fight over the coming months is not really about President Biden or Donald Trump — it is about reality vs fiction, and democracy vs fascism. We need real truth tellers to raise awareness about this predicament, and for all his faults, Jon Stewart is one of them. And thank God he has come back.
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The frustrating thing about this characterisation of Stewart's first night back, is that it's flat out wrong. Haviing watched it myself, after listening to the outraged left commentariat, his supposed "both are just as bad" routine was not at all what it was made out to be. It was quite obvious he was parodying their supposed equivalence. He clearly played Turnip's obvious culpability off against the inanity of every accusation against Biden. It wasn't particularly subtle. I think far too many people jumped to instant outrage because they were primed to, and weren't actually listening, they were already busy writing their screeds for clicks.
His second week started with a broad slap back at the overheated, missed-the-point critics, in the form of a parody of a Communist Chinese/Mao Zedong style, “criticism and self-criticism” session aimed squarely at the self-righteous, self-appointed guardians of the wHoly Left.
If that didn't register, you might be tipping into that territory. It wasn't subtle either time, and you appear to have entirely missed it. I read you guys because you're usually astute. This coverage certainly wasn't. If you missed this boat so completely, what else might you be missing?
Ben you are absolutely right, these Alt-right media influencers are indeed paving the way for fascism. It has been going on for many years and now we sadly see it escalating. As a citizen in one of the neighbours (Finland) to Russia I don´t know if I should cry or laugh when I see this Tucker Carlson figure bragging about his interwiew with Putin. All the while people are suffering in Ukraine. It´s incomprehensible to me. And yes, I know people are suffering in Gaza, Sudan, Afghanistan and Myanmar and other places as well. Just in case someone thinks I´m concerned about Ukraine.