If this image is too big for your Fediverse client, my apologies, you can read the comic at https://thebad.website/comic/neutral_news
[a newscaster sits at their desk, has a gigantic grin on his face, barely looks human]
Good evening, welcome to NEUTRAL NEWS
Your favorite mainstream program that always brings you a balanced perspective
Tonight’s top story: Some say a genocide is happening, others say it’s a complicated situation
[destroyed buildings, smoke, a crashed car, things look real bleak]
LIVE FROM THE CITY OF GENOCIDEBURG
[split screen, the newscaster continues talking]
A government spokesperson from Genocideland contacted us to clarify that the images you are seeing now might be, I quote, “faked by antigenociders who want us dead”
[in the rubble of a destroyed city, a character looks absolutely desperate, shaking, is screaming]
THEY KILLED MY ENTIRE FAMILY
[split screen, the newscaster smiles smugly]
Thank you for your perspective
[a character in a suit talks, looking very smug]
We reject the premise that there was any killing or destruction
[split screen, the newscaster still smiles smugly]
A bold alternative narrative, worthy of consideration!
[the newscaster is back to the full face inhuman smile, standing next to a chart that shows a BALANCE between TRUTH and FEELINGS]
As always, we at NEUTRAL NEWS aim to meet in the middle
[three identical stern technocrat looking characters in suits are standing at a desk, behind a chart that goes up]
We need to wait for more data before reacting
Let us not get carried away by the emotional responses
It’s a very complex topic
[two banners occupy the bottom part of the screen, below the experts]
DEATH COUNT: VERY HIGH AND GOING UP
Our expert panel says: this could mean anything
[in a destroyed city, in front of an explosion, a character wearing a PRESS helmet talks into a mic]
IT’S COMPLETE CHAOS OUT HERE, I HEARD EXPLOSIONS
[below the war reporter, the bottom half of the screen is occupied by two banners]
UNVERIFIED CLAIMS
We remind you that our experts in the studio say this is still a developing, nuanced situation
[split screen, the newscaster is mildly smiling at the war reporter]
Remember to take everything you see with a grain of salt!
[back to the newscaster at their desk, once again with the creepy full smile]
This was NEUTRAL NEWS presented to you by our sponsor Neutral Milk
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Move the slider completely over to feelings and you have most US news in a nutshell. There may be some facts, but it is really about the feels.
its mostly propaganda, especially now that its owned conservatives. telltale signs is having copaganda, and military propaganda on it.
Yes I’m seeing a propensity for people to get stuck on one end of this spectrum or the other, and it seems to be good at inhibiting judgement or leading to some extremist belief. And unable to separate historical events from current ones and appropriate reactions therein, poisoning any dispassionate or rational discussion. This is a good example: https://lemmy.world/post/41392385?scrollToComments=true
I think it is challenging not judging history through a modern lense. I am definitely guilty of examining the “founding fathers” through this modern lense and coming to conclusions that weren’t possible for them at the time.