‘Effective Altruism’ Is Another Term for Media Bias

Is the news media manipulated? It’s been four years since I wrote that effective altruism is neither effective nor altruistic. The mangy movement, which went into remission when Sam Bankman-Fried went to the big house for fraud, is back. This time it’s placing journalists in newsrooms to tell us how artificial intelligence will kill us all. So much for media’s already fragile credibility.

According to Gallup, only a third of Americans have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in media. I’m convinced that started in 1975, when “Saturday Night Live” first appropriated the Walter Cronkite-like news desk, and jokes began to water down the perceived credibility of real news from TV news desks. It took until 1994 for an honest assessment from a Weekend Update newscaster: “I’m Norm Macdonald. And now, the fake news.”

Five years later, middling comedian Jon Stewart, on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” copied the legitimate news-set look and used a “Headlines” chyron graphic for his left-leaning news satire. His trick is to go for a quick gag and punch line: “On the very night SNAP benefits ended, Trump threw a Great Gatsby-themed ode to decadence and hedonism.” The laugh line is straight out of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals”: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” But it isn’t news.

Mr. Stewart says he isn’t a journalist, but he and others like him helped kill media’s credibility. “The Daily Show” has won 26 Emmy awards. John Oliver’s also left-leaning, news-desk-appropriating “Last Week Tonight” on HBO won 32. Quick hits win over substance every time. No wonder almost half of U.S. adults under 30 get their news from TikTok.

I’m tired of watching Hollywood manipulate credibility-bestowing awards. Guess how many Emmy nominations or wins this year went to Taylor Sheridan or actors on his...

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