History Main / StrawmanNewsMedia

* In ''Film/ResidentEvilApocalypse'', Umbrella covers up the virus outbreak and uses its power to convince everybody that Raccoon City was destroyed went the reactor exploded. In addition to the media, the state's governor approves of Umbrella's actions. No mention is made of the people who escaped the city. WeWillNotUsePhotoshopInTheFuture is used in reverse, the video showing the truth is declared a forgery. [[FridgeLogic Presumably, the millions of laypersons who are well aware that nuclear meltdowns do not cause the same kind of destruction as a nuclear bomb were all paid off somehow.]

* In ''Film/ResidentEvilApocalypse'', Umbrella covers up the virus outbreak and uses its power to convince everybody that Raccoon City was destroyed went the reactor exploded. In addition to the media, the state's governor approves of Umbrella's actions. No mention is made of the people who escaped the city. WeWillNotUsePhotoshopInTheFuture is used in reverse, the video showing the truth is declared a forgery.

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
* ''The All American Report'' seems to be a straw man for "old school" wrestling "purists" who hate the modern independent circuit, although many of Ashley America's views about "tradition" are unfounded.[[/folder]]

* The ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' story "A Better World" has Glenn News, a rabidly pro-Judge channel run by Robert Glenn based on his personal prejudices. He is incandescent about Judge Maitland's experiment in putting more money into education than street Judges in one sector, first portraying her as foolishly naive, then as possibly corrupt. The fact it's ''working'' isn't just irrelevent; in Glenn's mind [[IRejectYourReality it can't possibly be true, whatever the evidence says]], and ''one'' violent crime in that sector is somehow proof it's more dangerous than the rest of the Meg. His lawyer wonders if it's wise to be criticising Justice Department policy, and he replies that in this specific case, opposing Justice Department policy ''is'' being pro-Judge. He goes on to blame Maitland's "weakness" for a riot in another sector entirely that she has no connection to, and which ''actually'' started when a pro-Judge movement ''riled up by Glenn News propaganda'' begins harassinga vigil for a woman who was wrongly killed by the Judges.

* The ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' story "A Better World" has Glenn News, a rabidly pro-Judge channel run by Robert Glenn based on his personal prejudices. He is incandescent about Judge Maitland's experiment in putting more money into education than street Judges in one sector, first portraying her as foolishly naive, then as possibly corrupt. The fact it's ''working'' isn't just irrelevent; in Glenn's mind [[IRejectYourReality it can't possibly be true, whatever the evidence says]], and ''one'' violent crime in that sector is somehow proof it's more dangerous than the rest of the Meg. His lawyer wonders if it's wise to be criticising Justice Department policy, and he replies that in this specific case, opposing Justice Department policy ''is'' being pro-Judge. He goes on to blame Maitland's "weakness" for a riot in another sector entirely that she had nothing to do with, and which ''actually'' started when a pro-Judge movement ''riled up by Glenn News propaganda'' begins harassinga vigil for a woman who was wrongly killed by the Judges.

* The ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' story "A Better World" has Glenn News, a rabidly pro-Judge channel run by Robert Glenn based on his personal prejudices. He is incandescent about Judge Maitland's experiment in putting more money into education than street Judges in one sector, first portraying her as foolishly naive, then as possibly corrupt. The fact it's ''working'' isn't just irrelevent; in Glenn's mind [[IRejectYourReality it can't possibly be true, whatever the evidence says]], and ''one'' violent crime in that sector is somehow proof it's more dangerous than the rest of the Meg. His lawyer wonders if it's wise to be criticising Justice Department policy, and he replies that in this specific case, opposing Justice Department policy ''is'' being pro-Judge.

* The ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd'' story "A Better World" has Glenn News, a rabidly pro-Judge channel run by Robert Glenn based on his personal prejudices. He is incandescent about Judge Maitland's experiment in putting more money into education than street Judges in one sector, first portraying her as foolishly naive, then as possibly corrupt. The fact it's ''working'' isn't just irrelevent; in Glenn's mind [[IRejectYourReality it can't possibly be true, whatever the evidence says]], and ''one'' violent crime in that sector is somehow proof it's more dangerous than the rest of the Meg. His lawyer wonders if it's wise to be criticising Justice Department policy, and he replies that in this specific case, opposing Justice Department policy ''is'' being pro-Judge.

* There is a ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' fic named ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8575642/1/ Cirno News Network]]'' where the first headline is '''MORIYA SUWAKO ABANDONS FAITHFUL!''' Here is an excerpt:

* The bad guys in Creator/AkiraKurosawa film ''[[Film/{{Scandal1950}} Scandal]]'' are the sleazy gossip-mongers of a sleazy tabloid, who print scurrilous rumors without bothering to make sure they're true, and who then bribe lawyers after being sued for slander.

** The season 4 episode "[[Recap/LawAndOrderS4E1Sweeps Sweeps]]": The journalist manipulated someone into shooting his guest so that he could get better ratings. Based on daytime talk-show hosts, especially [[RippedFromTheHeadlines the Jenny Jones incident]] (although JennyJones didn't actually do this, of course).

* The various news sources in the ''Xtended'' GameMod for ''[[Videogame/{{X}} X3: Terran Conflict]]'' slide between being legitimate news sources, such as the multi-racial [=GalNet=] News and the [[HumansByAnyOtherName Argon Federation]]'s Interstellar Broadcast Corporation, to crazy nationalist sources like the [[LostColony Solara]] News Network (considers the Solaran military to be the [[BlatantLies most competent]], downplays corruption, Terrans are literally the devil, etc.) and the racist and hyper-isolationist [[PlanetTerra Terran]] Morning News (one article, for example, claims that the Kingdom Of [[StarfishAliens Boron]] may be descendants of Terran aquatic life and, [[InsaneTrollLogic therefore, are a Terran colony subject to Terran taxes]]).

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd'' story "A Better World" has Glenn News, a rabidly pro-Judge channel run by Robert Glenn based on his personal prejudices. He is incandescent about Judge Maitland's experiment in putting more money into education than street Judges in one sector, first portraying her as foolishly naive, then as possibly corrupt. The fact it's ''working'' isn't just irrelevent; in Glenn's mind [[IRejectYourReality it can't possibly be true, whatever the evidence says]], and ''one'' violent crime in that sector is somehow proof it's more dangerous than the rest of the Meg.

* The ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd'' story "A Better World" has Glenn News, a rabidly pro-Judge channel run by Robert Glenn based on his personal prejudices. He is incandescent about Judge Maitland's experiment in putting more money into education than street Judges in one sector, first portraying her as foolishly naive, then as possibly corrupt. The fact it's ''working'' isn't just irrelevent; in Glenn's mind it can't possibly be true, whatever the evidence says, and ''one'' violent crime in that sector is somehow proof it's more dangerous than the rest of the Meg.

* The ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd'' story "A Better World'' has Glenn News, a rabidly pro-Judge channel run by Robert Glenn based on his personal prejudices. He is incandescent about Judge Maitland's experiment in putting more money into education than street Judges in one sector, first portraying her as foolishly naive, then as possibly corrupt. The fact it's ''working'' isn't just irrelevent; in Glenn's mind it can't possibly be true, whatever the evidence says, and ''one'' violent crime in that sector is somehow proof it's more dangerous than the rest of the Meg.

* In various tellings of Franchise/{{Superman}}'s origin, when Clark Kent arrives in Metropolis, the Daily Planet and all the newspapers are controlled by ComicBook/LexLuthor.

* ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'' is a sympathetic example. Cecil is, aside from occasional moments of ambiguous sarcasm, always very positive about the viciously totalitarian city government. This is PlayedForLaughs most of the time, but once [[spoiler:[[MegaCorp StrexCorp]] takes over the town]] it gets increasingly obvious that what he's allowed to say is heavily censored, and he isn't happy about that. At one point, he gives the end of the episode from the ''roof'' because they cut his mic, but he pirated the signal in order to continue talking about [[spoiler:[[LaResistance Tamika Flynn's rebellion]]]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Suzerain}}'' features six fictional newspapers, each with very clear editorial lines and will comment on your actions and events throughout the game. ''The Holdsord Post'' is a mainstream conservative outlet, while ''The Lachaven Times'' is a more moderate, liberal rival. ''Sordland Today'' is owned by an oligarch, and its favorability towards you is dependent on how you treat him personally; it is possible to make it a mouthpiece for the government if you're friendly and supportive. ''The Radical'' is a anti-establishment leftist newspaper, while ''Ekonomist'' is strongly capitalist. The only news source that doesn't fit this trope is ''Geopolitico'', which reports on international relations and events without any obvious bias.

* In ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV GTA IV]]'', [[Creator/FoxNewsChannel Weazel News]] and WKTT have a conservative bias, [[Creator/{{NPR}} Public Liberty Radio]] is openly leftist, and ''Fizz!'' and [=OurOwnReality.com=] worship celebrities.

->''"Welcome to'' Creator/{{Fox News|Channel}} ''-- your voice for evil."''

* ''VideoGame/Suzerain'' features six fictional newspapers, each with very clear editorial lines and which will comment on your actions and events throughout the game. ''The Holdsord Post'' is a mainstream conservative outlet, while ''The Lachaven Times'' is a more moderate, liberal rival. ''Sordland Today'' is owned by an oligarch, and its favorability towards you is dependent on how you treat him personally; it is possible to make it a mouthpiece for the government if you're friendly and supportive. ''The Radical'' is a anti-establishment leftist newspaper, while ''Ekonomist'' is strongly capitalist. The only news source that doesn't fit this trope is ''Geopolitico'', which reports on international relations and events without any obvious bias.

* In ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'', UNN is blatantly pro-Dominion. Kate Lockwell, one of its anchors, isn't but is constantly shut down by her boss.

* ''Series/AdamTwelve'': Although it is implied that the police department and local media have a positive working relationship, one episode made a clear exception: "Good Cop – Handle With Care," where two rouge freelance journalists, Bowen and Gurney, harass Malloy and Reed as they try to go about their duties. Malloy has had past run-ins with reporters such as Bowen and Gurney (who are trying to sell a story to the papers about police brutality), but the rookie Reed is distracted and always looking over his shoulder. Things come to a head when Reed has trouble handling a drugged-out suspect (after he goes into a seizure) and an incriminating photo is published in the newspaper, and Malloy has trouble trying to convince Reed to ignore these guys and they'll go away. In the end, Bowen and Gurney show up as officers are chasing down armed robbery suspects and when they try to suggest to the crowd that Malloy and Reed were arresting innocent people, the distraction ends up causing one of the robbers to fire his gun, shooting an innocent man to death.

Sometimes the media are given a shallow, even vapid, appearance. They are shown as caring more about celebrity hijinks, sensationalized violence and crime, and [[MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome missing white women]] than about things like wars, poverty, and corruption that are affecting far more lives. These news desks will be staffed by men and women who look like they came out of a fashion magazine rather than a journalism school. These are likely to display a bad case of WorstNewsJudgmentEver and simply [[NetworkDecay selling out for ratings]], and only say what people want to hear because people don't want to be told that they're living in a CrapsackWorld; they want to escape from everything. Or they will actively promote the idea that the world is a CrapsackWorld (because IfItBleedsItLeads), try their best to [[YouCanPanicNow scare people]] into continuing to watch the news, and blame all the woes on political opponents.

[[caption-width-right:318:[[BitingTheHandHumor Welcome to Fox News]]]]

* In VideoGame/StarCraftII, UNN is blatantly pro-Dominion. Kate Lockwell, one of its anchors, isn't but is constantly shut down by her boss.

* Hunter Helquist in ''{{VideoGame/Borderlands2}}'' works for the Hyperion Truth Network, and always badmouths your characters, as well as the Crimson Raiders, a resistance group run by the original Vault Hunters from the first game. No matter what happens during the story missions, he always paints you in a bad light while glorifying [[BigBad Handsome Jack]]. Fortunately, a sidequest is available later in the game that allows you to shut him up for good.