Topic: News Porn

CBS News coverage is criticized for using "dark winter" and "darkest days" as scripted phrases to describe the pandemic's trajectory. Reports highlight mobile morgues in El Paso and hospitals at "breaking points" in the Midwest. Analysis suggests these reports often ignore the inversion of case rates and death rates, focusing on high case numbers while deaths remain relatively low compared to previous peaks.

The hosts criticize Tucker Carlson and Fox News for repeatedly looping a video of a 90-year-old woman being assaulted in Manhattan. They characterize this style of reporting as "fear porn" and propaganda designed to make Americans afraid of one another. The segment argues that such media tactics are unacceptable and contribute to national divisiveness.

Mainstream media coverage of the conflict in the Congo is criticized as "news porn" that focuses on suffering without explaining the geopolitical causes. This leads to a retrospective on large-scale charity events like "Hands Across America" in 1986 and "USA for Africa." These efforts are characterized as largely ineffective at solving long-term systemic issues like homelessness and poverty.