A new digital short is blasting Indiana as a state full of bigots. In the style of a tourism ad, the parody shows images of all things Indiana is famous for, from it’s “world class cities” to it’s NFL team to the Indianapolis 500. The narrator’s voice croons, “That hoosier hospitality makes everyone welcome -- especially, bigots! Whether you’re a family of bigots, a couple of bigots or just an individual bigot” the ad claims, you can “shame and humiliate people who are different from you to your heart’s content.” The ad cites the newly-signed bill, “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” as the reason bigots live in Indiana.
This ad isn’t just from a random Youtube user. The parody comes from “Internet Action Force” (IAF), a new digital shorts website launched by the New York Post. According to local news site Capital New York [1], IAF is run by a gamut of writers and comedians from left-leaning outlets such as Comedy Central, Conan O’ Brien’s TeamCoco.com, and Funny or Die. Senior Editor Nick Poppy even comes from working as a digital video editor for ABC News.
Will Ferrell’s Funny or Die frequently delves into politics, whether it’s using celebrities to sell Obamacare [2] to younger people, mocking Christians [3] or talking about gay rights.
Of course the liberal media had nothing but kind words for the video, which slanders all people from Indiana as bigoted.
Raw Story praised [4] the “hilarious” video, from “the good folks” at Internet Action Force for blasting Indiana’s “so-called” religious freedom bill. The Huffington Post [5] shared the video as well.
It’s not just Hollywood and comedians misconstruing the bill as “discriminatory.” The big three networks have made a concerted effort in reporting on the “backlash” to the bill, devoting nearly fifteen minutes of reporting [6] over the weekend with nearly all of the soundbites going to opponents.
The networks hyped how celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Charles Barkley have come out condemning the law. Somehow they thought the pop princess, who’s most famous for riding around naked on a wrecking ball, is someone whose political insights are worth giving credit to.
— Kristine Marsh is Staff Writer for MRC Culture at the Media Research Center. Follow Kristine Marsh on Twitter. [7]