John Oliver blasts Sinclair for making local TV news anchors recite a speech about 'false news' like 'members of a brainwashed cult'

HBO

"Last Week Tonight with John Oliver."

• John Oliver took aim at the Sinclair Broadcast Group on Sunday, after a viral video last week showed dozens of the company's local TV news anchors reciting a speech about "false news."
• The video followed a CNN report that described how Sinclair forced its nearly 200 local news stations to air "must run" pre-recorded promotional packages that were akin to "pro-Trump propaganda."
• In the video, local TV news anchors parrot a speech about "the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country."
• Oliver, who has previously called out Sinclair for its "noticeably conservative" bias, played the full video on Sunday and described Sinclair anchors as sounding like members of a "brainwashed cult."

John Oliver took aim at the Sinclair Broadcast Group on Sunday's "Last Week Tonight," after a Deadspin video that showed dozens of the company's local TV news anchors reciting a speech about "false news" went viral last week.

The video followed a CNN report from last month that described how Sinclair was forcing the 193 local news stations it owns to air "must run" pre-recorded promotional packages that were akin to "pro-Trump propaganda."

In the video, local TV news anchors parrot a speech about "the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country," echoing President Trump's consistent bashing of media outlets' negative coverage of his administration as "fake news."

Oliver, who in July 2017 dedicated an episode to calling Sinclair out for its "noticeably conservative" bias, played the Deadspin video in full on Sunday night's episode.

"Nothing says, 'We value independent media,' like dozens of reporters forced to repeat the same message over and over again like members of a brainwashed cult," Oliver said of Sinclair Broadcast Group, after playing the Deadspin video.

Watch Oliver's full segment below: