John Oliver, Alex Trebek Confront Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories In Unexpected Joint Effort
Coronavirus conspiracy theories have circulated since COVID-19 was first spotted in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019, but "Last Week Tonight" host John Oliver has a plan for combatting any "dangerous misinformation" that may be also spreading.
On Sunday night's episode of his HBO show, Oliver discussed his concerns about fake news and potentially irresponsible information that could be shared on social media, such as reasons why you should not wear a face mask. To this end, the late night host enlisted the help of "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek in an attempt to get people to listen to the message in a new way.
READ: 'Jeopardy!' College Championship Has Eerie Connection To Ongoing Coronavirus Outbreak
When speaking about "confused grandparents," Oliver said that while they may not heed his advice, they might listen to "the man that they've been letting into their home every weeknight to calmly tell them what is and isn't correct."
The former "Daily Show" correspondent then said that they were able to get Trebek to make a 90-second video "gently urging anyone who watches it to be careful with what they share online" in an attempt to begin a new type of conversation surrounding the novel coronavirus and its societal effects.
Additionally, Oliver then shared that he had also obtained the help of others celebrities, such as professional wrestler John Cena, in order to appeal to different demographics than the intended audience for Trebek's clip. As seen in the the "Last Week Tonight" clip, which can be viewed below, the WWE star himself then prompted people to seek information from official sources as well.
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