Very coincidentally, the reading of week 8 also quotes John Oliver’s climate change segment to illustrate the impact of comedy news on scientific consensus and public perceptions. Actually, I find the climate change topic quite similar to our vegans vs. vaccinations topic that they both involve the conflict between the established ‘common sense’ and the scientific fact. This type of topic is different from political issues because there is right or wrong for people’s perspectives. As Oliver said, “you don’t need people’s opinions on a fact.”

The article declares that environmental topics like climate change are a significant part of satire news, and these news programs usually stand on the scientific side to convince audiences. From my point of view, the result of this experiment could not only apply to climate change but also apply to all kind of scientific issues.

The author mentions two challenges when comedy news show tries to promote the fact. In short, the first one is to introduce the result of scientific research to audiences who don’t know a lot about the topic; the second one is to change people who hold the opposing views. To examine the effect, they did an experiment. Participants were asked to complete a survey about their climate change beliefs. Then, they would watch Oliver’s segment and do the same survey again to see the change. The result is similar to my conjecture that people who don’t have strong motivation are easier to be influenced. 

For neutral audiences, watching satirical television news is an entertainment so they can easily accept its opinions. Furthermore, the loyal audiences have already built the sense of trust. They are willing to listen to Oliver’s (and also other news hosts’) perspective and learn from him. However, for sceptics, the humour could still be considered as an offence.

This experiment also has its flaws. In my opinion, participants’ viewing habits, for instance, the frequency of watching comedy news program may vary the result. As we discussed earlier, satire news has well-educated and young audiences who are able to think critically. This kind of audiences may be more open to new ideas, and more rational to believe in science. When I introduce the vegans and vaccines topic to my friends, most of them never heard of it, but they all know the importance of getting vaccinated. Because of audiences’ education level and their affection for satire culture (or for a particular host), the effect may be greater.

In all, comedy news is a better way to promote science than other mainstream media, since it doesn’t need to please all the audiences. It is an effective propaganda to influence audiences’ beliefs and their practical actions.