Conspiracy theories abound this election season, but a chance Freedom of Information Act request turned up an odd accusation of propaganda toward an unexpected corner of the media universe.
A “Jeopardy” viewer accused the CBS quiz show of using its airtime to “promote and propagandize” the Affordable Care Act with “slanted questions” and “misleading answers” during a June 2013 episode.
The Sarasota, Fla., viewer filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission that was found by online news site the Verge in a FOIA request it said it filed out of curiosity.
The complaining viewer pointed to four questions in a category titled “healthcare.” Only one question actually referred to the landmark law passed in 2010.
To win $800, it asked: “Under Obamacare, most people under 65 with incomes under 133% of the poverty level are eligible for this program.” The correct response, of course, was: “What is Medicaid?”
The other questions asked about the gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage known as the doughnut hole, the duties of an advanced practice registered nurse and the title of the 1996 Mental Health Parity Act.
The viewer also claimed to have read the entire ACA, which is about 20,000 pages long.
Only seven complaints had been filed against the show since 2013. The others included a claim about the accepted answer to a question being incorrect, an allegation of conspiracy behind long-time winners, a whispered profanity making it on air and poor closed captioning.
Back to you, Alex Trebek.
