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LastWeekTonight
@lastweektonight · 10.1M subscribers · 952 videos · 10 analyzed
Share Influence ReportCommunication Profile (across 10 videos)
Stated Purpose
Breaking news on a weekly basis. Sundays at 11PM - only on HBO. Subscribe to the Last Week Tonight channel for the latest videos from John Oliver and the LWT team.
Operative Pattern
Across 10 videos, this channel demonstrates low persuasion intensity, primarily through Character Flattening. Recurring themes suggest consistent operative goals beyond stated content.
Avg Intensity
Avg Transparency
Top Technique
Character flattening
Reducing a complex person to one defining trait — hero, villain, genius, fool — stripping away nuance that would complicate the narrative. Once someone is labeled, everything they do gets interpreted through that lens.
Fundamental attribution error (Ross, 1977); Propp's narrative archetypes (1928)
Persuasion Dimensions
Per-Video Operative Goals — detected in individual analyses
The content aims to discredit RFK Jr.'s use of data by framing his statistical claims as fundamentally absurd and unworthy of serious debate.
The content aims to drive viewership to the full-length HBO episode by using a humorous, high-intensity clip as a promotional hook.
The content aims to discredit Mehmet Oz's fitness for public office by linking him to past controversies and policy failures in Medicare Advantage.
The content aims to provide satirical commentary on New York City elections while promoting the full HBO show.
The content aims to provide comedic social commentary on Elon Musk's recent business setbacks through a satirical lens.
What's Valuable Here
This clip provides a brief update on a long-running community-focused stunt involving minor league sports culture.
Minor League Baseball Update
This clip provides a concise example of how political satire uses hyperbole to highlight specific public figures currently in the news cycle.
Kash Patel #lastweektonight
This content highlights the intersection of celebrity culture and federal policy appointments, specifically regarding the oversight of Medicare Advantage.
Dr. Oz & Medicare Advantage #lastweek...
Provides a concise, evidence-based correction of specific statistical errors that might otherwise mislead the public.
RFK Jr. & Statistics #lastweektonight
Provides a concise, humorous entry point into local NYC political events that might otherwise be overlooked by a national audience.
NYC Elections #lastweektonight
Provides a concise, humorous summary of recent public setbacks for one of the world's most influential figures.
SpaceX #lastweektonight
Viewer Guidance (1 tips)
Notice retention tactics
Content structure prioritizes keeping you watching over informing you. Ask if the format serves understanding or attention.
Technique Fingerprint (from knowledge graph)
Curiosity gap
Creating a deliberate gap between what you know and what you want to know, triggering curiosity as an almost physical itch. Headlines like "You won't believe..." are engineered to exploit this. The content rarely delivers on the promise.
Loewenstein's Information Gap Theory (1994)
Association
Pairing a new idea, product, or person with something you already feel positively or negatively about. The goal is to transfer your existing emotional response without any logical connection. It works below conscious awareness.
Evaluative conditioning (Pavlov); IPA 'Transfer' technique (1937)
Character flattening
Reducing a complex person to one defining trait — hero, villain, genius, fool — stripping away nuance that would complicate the narrative. Once someone is labeled, everything they do gets interpreted through that lens.
Fundamental attribution error (Ross, 1977); Propp's narrative archetypes (1928)
Similar Channels (shared influence techniques)
Featured People
Analyzed Videos (10)
Kash Patel #lastweektonight
459.9K views
LWT Season 13 x The Pitt
311.7K views
Dr. Oz & Medicare Advantage #lastweektonight
283.3K views
NYC Elections #lastweektonight
353.0K views
SpaceX #lastweektonight
3.6M views
Minor League Baseball Update
968.4K views
RFK Jr. & Statistics #lastweektonight
5.4M views
Last Week Tonight Library: Season 5, Coming 9/15!
108.9K views
Last Week Tonight Library: Season 4, Coming 8/25!
125.0K views
Season 2 Promo: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
1.4M views