Snoutbreak '09: The "Daily Show" Mocks The Swine Flu Scare-Off (VIDEO)

As the media coverage of swine flu reaches a fevered pitch, Jon Stewart wants you to know that at 149 deaths in Mexico, it still ranks last on the "list of things that can kill you in Mexico."

In the first video below, Stewart took on the 24-hour news networks, mocking their sensationalist graphics, writing, and questions as intentionally terrifying. He compiled clips of reporters and anchors saying that the whole world could perish, that this could be an act of bioterrorism, etc. and then showed clips of them saying "we don't want to freak anybody out." Really?

In the second video below, John Oliver reports from the CDC and Jason Jones reports things he heard from some guy. The latter begins to believe Oliver's soothing words are just a cover-up for him being a British swine-flu zombie and urges fans to shoot him in the head. Poor John Oliver.


WATCH:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Snoutbreak '09 - The Last 100 Days
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The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
The Last 100 Days
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

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Comments

[TazoWolf]

Decent Q&A about Swine flu here, backing up words with scientific explanations people can understand to dispel some fears and explain where the real concerns lie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma7IeWRH7y0

[qxav949]

I could be wrong but I believe that this is WAY overblown like the all-caps I used a few words back. Doesn't every country have some people who contract the flu at any one time? Haven't there been other strains of flu in the last decade where no antiviral treatment was developed specifically for that virus? Where was the pandemic then?
This H1N1 virus 'demic (epi/pan) gained traction because of the deaths of the young mexicans. Who knows how healthy they were or to what degree were their afflictions treated once the virus was contracted? OK, virus mutation from animal to human plus high degree of airborn transmission make it bad, but isn't that true of any other airborne virus?
The media and some gov't authorities would have you believe that this is one helluva super virus armed with an AK and hell bent on causing worldwide destruction. Please.
It's the flu like any other. Some people get it, most won't. Every year thousands of people die from the flu worldwide. Where was the pandemic alert 4, 5, 6?
Wash you hands, shut your mouth and you'll be fine.

[RenoSage]

It is necessary for the media to talk about the outbreak of swine flu, humorous or serious.
People need constant reminding to wash their hands. (observe for yourself)
People need reminding to catch their sneezes.
People need reminding to stay home when sick.

/Basic good hygiene is required for children and adults.

This is one more thing that "we will get through".

[CanUFeel2012]

EARTH HAS A WAY OF CLEANSING ITSELF, HOPE THIS ISN'T ONE OF THEM.........

[WilliamL]

People dieing of the "flu" or anything else really is not such a funny thing or joke?

I suppose when such is happening to others it is easy to make jokes.

[LinkSync]

I am 52 years old and pretty grumpy.
But when I watch John Stewart I feel like I did when I was 18 watching SNL make fun of Iran/Contra and ronald RayGun while I was tripping.

The guy does his thing perfectly and always makes me laugh even over things that at root are not funny in the least.

Reading the comments here I see stupid fear still rules the roost and have little hope for intelligent life on planet earth.
I think evolution will prove our undoing as we can not seem to actually manage to THINK but instead lay words on our emotions and call that thinking.

Still a good laugh here and there is a welcome respite from and for Humanity.

[katooom]

Agree with Link. Fear is trumped up by the media, the pols respond because that is all they know to do. And the people get more fearful. All part of the game of control by the politico/media conglomerate.

And all the while millions of $$$ are wasted in haste. What a shame.

People need to think. Whatever happened to common sense?

[GuidedByEwoks]

Pandemic flu is scary and should be taken seriously, but Huff Po looked like World War III was occuring. They seemed to be creating larger and larger font sizes by the hour.

[WYHKTai-Tai]

LARGE FONT FLU!!! RUUUNNNN!!!!

[lastpost]

Does the Mexican nation have access to what the rest of the world can provide, to control this outbreak? If not, then isn’t that response like watching a neighbour’s house burn. Waiting for it to spread to adjoining properties?

[candlepower]

i hope no one will seize on it for political reasons or to make a point based on neo-con or theological drivel, said drivel is, incidentally I hear i a vector for all kinds of swine

[nobozos]

You're chances of dying in your own bathtub are much greater.
When did we become a nation of worry-warts?

[mergina]

Everybody is high down there. They don't have a clue what is going on.

[Dynamohum]

There are Canadian Health/Scientists, American CDC Doctors/Scientists and Mexican. I would say that they are monitoring and evaluating around the clock.

[jdlund]

First of all Swine Flu transmitting to humans isn't new, it sprouts up here and there, just not usually this many cases at once. But at the risk of sounding like a bad person there's a reason why this thing has killed so many in Mexico City and it has nothing to do with the flu itself. It's similar to the fact that the Spanish Flu killing so many in New York City had little to do with the actual viral strand. The conditions in Mexico City, the crowding, chronic respitory issues brought on by horrid air polution, lack of access to top notch health care for poor people, over abundance of poor people, people living in less than clean surroundings, etc. all have more to do with why there is a body count.

The chances of anyone dying from this flu is relatively the same as with any flu, it's just that there are no vaccines for this one and it is a little harder to treat. But it's not that it's deadly it's just that being poor in Mexico City has serious disadvantages.

I would point out that millions of people die every year from malaria, which is completely treatable and curable. So I suppose it will be the people of Mexico who bear the blunt of both a treatable virus and the ignorance and racism that is unfortunately not treatable.

[dutch163]

valid observations

and the people at the source of the outbreak did not get the needed meds

and the source was a Smithfield pig farm

[wakeup804]

The population that has died in Mexico is different from the average flu, that is why everyone is worried. Normally influenza kills 36,000 people yearly in the US. Most are elderly, the young, or people with pre-exixting conditions, i.e., asthma, heart conditions. What is troubling about the outbreak, is the age group of those who have died. In Mexico, they have been between 20-50, a group that does not usually die from the flu. In addition, if this strain mutates beyond the capabilities of Tamiflu, then we have a major problem, since there is no vaccine in the works.

[Dynamohum]

Now why do people need to tell a lie? You had me right there until you made a false statement about no vaccine in the works. There will be enough material incubated within one month by the CDC and they say maybe two months after that the vaccine would be tested. It wouldn't have taken much checking to find out and then post the TRUTH.

[elsellel]

MSM --- NO MORE FEAR PUSHING!!

We all see through the smoke screen, so knock it off.

[Fernando]

I have a bet going at work that in less than three weeks we won't be talking about this. It's not a conspiracy by the media but they do see higher ratings when a scare happens, which increases advertising and revenue. I'm personally not clicking on any news links about the Swine Flu and switch channels whenever it comes up. This is much like the avian flu, monkey flu, "increased" shark attacks and a gazillion other stories that receive undue media coverage and turn out to be nothing real or significant. They are crying wolf.

[kudzumaster]

Jon Stewart is becoming my new hero.

[JackieOC]

Can't help but wonder what is it that they want to take our eyes off of!!!

[afgail]

It seems there is an inverse relation used by the MSM. The really insignificant issue is given huge coverage. Ergo, 42 very mild cases of swine flu in a populaton of 350,000,000 gets hours and hours of over blown fear mongering news coverage. None OF THE CASES went to the hospital and no one died. So so why all the MANUFACTURED HYSTERIA? The answer: It is easier and cheaper to gin up than actually do real news reporting.

[Fernando]

A scare = higher ratings = more advertising = higher revenue.

[elwoodey]

I have always been a big fan of Jon Stewart. I am constantly amazed at how he is able to speak
intelligently on a variety of subjects with a variety of guests, however the exception
goes to science and scientist. I suspect he is displaying a bit of ignorance in this recent clip.
Statistically, a calamitous pandemic is an absolute at some point in time.
While the current H1N1 virus in the end may not reach this status, to date many factors are still unknown. Viral patterns are notoriously unpredictable and the potential for a severe outbreak with
severe consequences is significant. While an inflated alert and a little bit of panic may seem
annoying, it truly pales in comparison to what could be if this thing is the real deal.

[Foreground]

I think that this particular piece is more about the media manufacturing panic than the dangers of a pandemic. One of the points they made is that it was caught early and can be treated, and that the media is still going out of its way to imply that it is an unstoppable engine of death that may have been caused by terrorism.

[Zaida Woodruff]

I agree 100% Zee

[LeftTexas]

Stewart is consistently brilliant.

Snoutbreak! LOL