#Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Alex Trebek takes on conspiracies

It’s been a few weeks since Last Week Tonight with John Oliver came on the air, and because of that, we were sure that there would be a lot for the host to talk about.

The show started with a discussion all about schools, which is of course a very important subject at the moment for a multitude of reasons. Take, for starters, the simple fact that the President and Vice-President want them open, while teachers are incredibly concerned. Teachers are at risk, children can also get sick, and it is almost impossible to adhere to CDC guidelines within such a confined and underfunded place.

So what was the main segment tonight? There were so many different directions that Oliver could have gone in here, but he went with one that feels almost like an evergreen topic: Conspiracy theories. Those are always going to be out there, right? Well, in the era of the global health crisis, they are running more rampant than ever before.

From our vantage point, one of the big problems is that a lot of people out there simply believe whatever they want to. They’re trying to cling to something that isn’t true just because they want them to be true. Or, an influential person tells them that they are true. Conspiracies have long been around, but the issue today is that technology can do a lot in order to make a conspiracy look as though it is real.

What can be done in order to stop these theories from spreading? As Oliver pointed out, it’s not always going to be possible for social-media companies to catch all of them and stop them from spreading. It’s going to be about individual responsibility, and working in order to stay skeptical to ensure that other people don’t get suckered in.

Oliver’s segment tonight was for sure funny, but above all else, he led this segment on conspiracy theories with reason and understanding. He didn’t try to belittle everyone who believes nonsense and instead, tried to explain why these beliefs are spread and how to get these people to think differently.

Oh, and Oliver tried to use people like John Cena and Alex Trebek to encourage people to not buy into everything they see.

Related News – Be sure to get some more news when it comes to Last Week Tonight

What did you think about the July 19 edition of Last Week Tonight?

Be sure to share right now in the comments! Meanwhile, remember to stick around for some other news on the show. (Photo: HBO.)