The Young Turks

Posted August 2023 on NewsGuardTech.
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The Young Turks

A web-based liberal news commentary network that often airs inaccurate
and misleading claims. Owned by The Young Turks Inc.
HIGH RISK
4 / 10
Does not repeatedly convey false news 4 points
Reports on important topics responsibly 3
Presents multiple viewpoints 2
News organization associated with this program adheres strongly to journalistic

standards 1
Content
TYT airs on its website, TYT.com, in addition to streaming on digital video
platforms including YouTube TV, Pluto TV, and Twitch. TYT.com lists 10 shows that
were producing new content as of April 2023.
NewsGuard newsguardtech.com
Posted August 2023 on NewsGuardTech.com
The network’s most prominent programming consists of shows discussing the
latest news, often about politics. Its namesake and flagship show is “The Young
Turks,” co-hosted by parent company CEO and founder Cenk Uygur and by Ana
Kasparian, a former MSNBC contributor who has written for The New York Times
opinion section and liberal news website RawStory.com.
Other shows include “Indisputable,” a commentary program focused on racial
justice hosted by Atlanta radio personality Rashad Richey; “Unbossed,” hosted
by former Democratic Ohio State Sen. Nina Turner; and “The Damage Report,”
hosted by John Iadarola, a commentator who also regularly appears on “The
Young Turks.” A show called “The Conversation” features TYT personalities, often
Uygur, interviewing political leaders, activists, and entertainers.
The network has attracted notable guests, including Democratic U.S. Sens.
Elizabeth Warren and Jon Ossoff, rapper Killer Mike, and, in a combative
November 2022 interview, Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz.
TYT shows are consistently liberal and frequently criticize Republicans. When the
network’s hosts and guests direct their criticism at Democrats, they often do so
from the left — calling out Democratic officeholders’ seen as too close to
corporate interests. Segments regularly focus on topics particularly important to
liberals, such as labor issues, abortion rights, and the fallout from the Jan. 6., 2021
U.S. Capitol riot.
Although Uygur was born in Istanbul, Turkey, the name “The Young Turks” reflects
the dictionary definition of a “Young Turk”: a progressive or insurgent member of
a political movement or institution advocating for change, according to
TYT.com’s About page.
Credibility
TYT shows are based on a mix of sources, including original interviews with
newsmakers and pundits, as well as reporting credited to other news outlets,
including Bloomberg, The Daily Beast, and Reuters.
In two reviews conducted in November 2022 and April 2023, NewsGuard found
that TYT regularly aired inaccurate or misleading claims.
For example, in a Feb. 27, 2023, “Damage Report” segment on that month’s train
derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, host John Iadarola said: “The House is going to
investigate it. But the part they're going to investigate is 'something something
Biden.' They have no interest whatsoever in the rail company: why the rail
company had a mile and a half long train, why we still don't know what chemicals
were actually on that. ..."
In a Feb. 10, 2023, letter, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency named five
chemicals found on the derailed train — contradicting Iadarola’s claim that “we
still don’t know what chemicals were actually on” the train. According to the EPA,
the list of chemicals “included but [was] not limited to” vinyl chloride, ethylene
glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, isobutylene, and butyl acrylate.
In Feb. 20, 2023, coverage of the Ohio train derailment on “The Damage Report,”
guest Francesca Fiorentini, a “Young Turks” contributor who has hosted the TYT
show “The Twitchuation Room,” said: "It is the regulations that were successfully
lobbied to be rolled back in 2017 that in part led to this kind of derailment, the
lack of breaks, proper brakes, on each car, excuse me, on the entire car. The
length of the train."
In fact, the brake regulations that Fiorentini appears to have referenced would
not have affected the train that derailed in Ohio, according to Jennifer Homendy,
chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board. Homendy wrote in a
Feb. 16, 2023, tweet: “The ECP [electronically controlled pneumatic] braking rule
would’ve applied ONLY to HIGH HAZARD FLAMMABLE TRAINS. The train that
derailed in East Palestine was a MIXED FREIGHT TRAIN containing only 3
placarded Class 3 flammable liquids cars.”
Homendy added: “This means even if the rule had gone into effect, this train
wouldn't have had ECP brakes.”
Iadarola did not challenge Fiorentini’s assertion that the deregulation “in part led
to this kind of derailment,” despite NTSB Chairwoman Homendy saying
otherwise four days earlier.
On a Nov. 16, 2022, “Young Turks” segment about Donald Trump’s 2024
presidential campaign announcement, co-host Ana Kasparian said: "I should
note that his daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, did not show up
for the speech. They sat this one out."
This is false. Although some news outlets reported that Ivanka Trump was not
present for her father’s 2024 campaign announcement, Reuters photographs
published by the National Review and the New York Post show that Kushner, was
in fact, on hand for the speech. Indeed, both ABC News and NBC News reported
the day before the “Young Turks” episode aired that Kushner attended Trump’s
announcement.
On the Nov. 10, 2022, episode of “Indisputable,” guest host Ben Gleib said that
“the vast majority of Trump's 330 endorsed candidates went straight down in
flames, partially perhaps because he was endorsing a bunch of people who aren't
qualified to work for someone's campaign, aren't qualified to work as a greeter at
Walmart, let alone were the candidate at the top of the ticket themselves."
In fact, the vast majority of Trump’s picks won their races. The political
encyclopedia website Ballotpedia.org has published a breakdown of how Trump-
endorsed candidates fared in the elections held Nov. 8, 2022. Approximately 84
percent of Trump-backed candidates prevailed in these races.
On the Nov. 10, 2022, episode of “The Young Turks,” co-host Uygur said that "LA
and California have stopped counting votes. That'll take another two months. …
It's incompetence wall to wall."
However, this claim overstates the time California takes to count votes. The
California Secretary of State’s website says: “California county elections officials
have 30 days, also known as the canvass period, to count every valid ballot and
conduct a required post-election audit.” California Secretary of State Shirley
Weber certified the 2022 general election results on Dec. 16, 2022.
Moreover, in November elections in 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020, California
secretaries of state certified the results by December, NewsGuard found.
On the Nov. 4, 2022, episode of “The Damage Report,” host John Iadarola said:
"Donald Trump, he once had a bunch of protesters mangled so that he could
stand in front of a church and hold a Bible up upside-down, which I think is a sign
of the anti-Christ." Iadarola was describing the June 2020 clearing of protesters
from Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C.
Describing the same June 2020 incident on the Nov. 9, 2022, episode of “The
Damage Report,” guest Jayar Jackson, who hosts a TYT show called “The
Watchlist,” said that "[Trump] was holding his Bible upside-down as he was
attacking protesters.”
However, NewsGuard reviewed footage published by C-SPAN and Fox News of
Trump’s June 2020 appearance at St. John’s Church after the clearing of
Lafayette Square, and found no evidence that Trump held a Bible upside-down.
Indeed, in a September 2020 article, The New York Times called the claim that
Trump displayed a Bible upside-down “a debunked viral falsehood.”
“Video and photographs clearly show that the Bible wasn’t upside down, as fact
checkers at PolitiFact and Snopes have noted,” the Times wrote.
Moreover, on the Nov. 4 show, Iadarola failed to mention an official finding from
the U.S. Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General contradicting the
claim that protesters were cleared from the park “so that [Trump] could stand in
front of a church and hold a Bible up upside-down.”
The inspector general’s report from June 2021 stated: “The evidence we obtained
did not support a finding that the [U.S. Park Police] cleared the park to allow the
President to survey the damage and walk to St. John’s Church. Instead, the
evidence we reviewed showed that the USPP cleared the park to allow the
contractor to safely install … fencing in response to destruction of property and
injury to officers occurring on May 30 and 31. Further, the evidence showed that
the USPP did not know about the President’s potential movement until mid- to
late afternoon on June 1—hours after it had begun developing its operational
plan and the fencing contractor had arrived in the park.”
Because TYT shows often advance false and misleading claims, NewsGuard has
determined that the network does not convey news on important topics
responsibly.
As described above, TYT shows are consistently left-leaning. Shows rarely make
an effort to incorporate opposing views on the issues that are discussed.
For example, the March 28, 2023, episode included a segment focused on how
Republican-led Mississippi has not expanded Medicaid access under the
Affordable Care Act, while most other states have. Kasparian said: “Now,
Mississippi and nine other states have refused to take advantage of that
expansion to help their residents, and it is having a disastrous effect.” Uygur
added: “I haven’t seen a Republican politician try to help the average American in
any way, shape, or form in 20 years, at a minimum.”
The segment included a clip of Mississippi’s Republican governor, Tate Reeves,
calling on state legislators to come up with “innovative, free-market solutions
that disrupt traditional health care delivery models, increase competition and
lead to better health outcomes for our fellow Mississippians.” Kasparian
immediately responded by calling this “a BS argument about the free market.”
Uygur added: “What he’s saying makes no logical sense.” No one on the show
defended Reeves or Mississippi’s decision against expanding Medicaid.
The Nov. 16, 2022, episode of “TYT Old School” began with a discussion of
Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who is challenging her
loss. Uygur started the episode by saying: “I am in an excellent mood, partly
because I’m about to tell you — down goes Kari Lake, down goes Kari Lake. Kari
Lake has been defeated in Arizona.” Iadarola then said of Lake: “Her getting in [to
office] would be absolutely devastating.”
Uygur closed the segment by stating: “The fact that she lost is awesome and a
terrific relief to any thinking person who cares about our democracy.” No one
offered a defense of Lake.
A Nov. 15, 2022, segment of “Unbossed” was entirely aligned with a left-leaning
view of the issue of abortion rights. Show host Nina Turner said: “It always
boggles my mind how Republicans talk about small government but they always
want it just sized just right just enough to fit into a woman's womb.” TYT
contributor Yasmin Khan commented: “Just the idea of [Republican U.S. Sen.]
Ted Cruz anywhere near my uterus is a thought that I really can't deal with at all.”
No one argued for curtailing abortion rights or in support of the U.S. Supreme
Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
A Nov. 9, 2022, "Young Turks" segment provided a uniformly glowing description
of Democrat John Fetterman, who won that month's U.S. Senate election in
Pennsylvania. Co-host Ana Kasparian said that Fetterman "ran a fantastic
campaign and decided to campaign on the issues that actually matter to voters."
Co-host Uygur then said: “Ana's been pointing out this entire time, very correctly
so, that if you run on economic issues, that's where the Republicans are really
weak, because they have no actual plan.”
No one on the show criticized Fetterman or defended his opponent, Republican
Mehmet Oz.
Because TYT content regularly provides one-sided, liberal perspectives on the
issues it covers, NewsGuard has determined that the network does not meet the
standard for presenting multiple viewpoints.
The website of TYT has been rated by NewsGuard with an overall score of
69.5/100. It fails NewsGuard’s criteria for gathering and presenting information
responsibly.
NewsGuard sent three emails to a TYT press email address in November 2022,
and another email in March 2023, seeking comment on the network’s airing of
false and misleading claims and failure to regularly offer multiple viewpoints, but
did not receive a response.
History
“The Young Turks” began in 2002 as a show on Sirius Satellite Radio. The network
started its 24-hour channel on YouTube TV in 2018, according to TYT.com.
In 2011, Uygur founded the Wolf-PAC, a Political Action Committee that
argues that special interest groups and big-money donors have corrupted U.S.
elections, according to the committee’s website. The Wolf-PAC, a 501(c)(4)
organization, aims to amend the U.S. Constitution to “ensure the integrity of our
elections and establish a government accountable to the people,” according to
the group’s website.
Uygur ran as a Democrat for Congress and lost in the 2020 special election to
replace Katie Hill, who represented California's 25th congressional district until
November 2019, before resigning over allegations of an inappropriate
relationship with a member of her staff. Uygur received 6.6 percent of the vote,
finishing fourth in a 12-person primary. Republican Mike Garcia won the general
election.
Editor’s Note: This Nutrition Label was updated on April 4, 2023.
Written by: Sam Howard
Edited by: Eric Effron
Sources
Content
https://tyt.com/about
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/young%20Turk
https://legacy.tyt.com/about/host-bios/
https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/04/20/should-bernie-sanders-
call-it-quits/its-not-over-for-bernie-sanders-yet
https://www.rawstory.com/u/ana_kasparian
http://www.anakasparian.com/bio
https://legacy.tyt.com/about/host-bios/ana-kasparian/?
_ga=2.245461191.2115752980.1668439942-1127382336.1668439942
https://legacy.tyt.com/about/host-bios/cenk-uygur/?
_ga=2.48919909.2115752980.1668439942-1127382336.1668439942
https://deadline.com/2011/07/cenk-uygur-out-at-msnbc-148577/
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/cenk-uygur-exits-msnbc-
213624/
https://www.mediaite.com/politics/cenk-uygur-clashes-with-matt-gaetz-in-
trainwreck-interview-why-did-you-ask-for-a-pardon-for-having-sex-with-a-17-
year-old/
https://www.rashadrichey.com/about.html
https://legacy.tyt.com/about/host-bios/john-iadarola/
https://tyt.com/shows/the-damage-report/about
Criticism of Cortez Masto https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/84082947
https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/84074340
Prager https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daVxKc6FgYU&t=54s
Capitol riot coverage https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/84046365
https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/84046365?
ts=2676.91&endTs=2691.91&q=according
https://tyt.com/shows/unbossed
https://tyt.com/about/press
Credibility
Daily Beast mentioned
https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/83946564?
ts=3458.92&endTs=3473.92&q=gates
Labor issues https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/84074340
Bloomberg mentioned https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/84046365
https://www.newsweek.com/ivanka-trump-abandons-father-2024-campaign-
jared-kushner-1759912
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ivanka-skips-trumps-2024-
announcement-not-plan-involved-politics-rcna57419
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ivanka-trump-plan-involved-dads-2024-
campaign/story?id=93375390&cid=social_twitter_abcn
Nov. 10 Indisputable https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/84110422
Trump speech https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/84164519
Ballotpedia
https://ballotpedia.org/Endorsements_by_Donald_Trump#Analysis_.282022.29
Counting votes https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/84089128
Nov 4 Damage Report:
https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/84057675?ts=597.67&endTs=612.67&q=bible
https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/california-vote-counting-
process
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/sep/18/joe-biden/joe-biden-
wrong-about-donald-trump-holding-bible-u/
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/sep/18/joe-biden/joe-biden-
wrong-about-donald-trump-holding-bible-u/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/technology/no-trump-did-not-hold-the-
bible-upside-down-at-lafayette-square.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ShnqmiKLE8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtIJXYaYVO8
NYT
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/technology/no-trump-did-not-hold-the-
bible-upside-down-at-lafayette-square.html
https://tyt.com/reports/16AJOKzVziKkKMUmsIUqMY/31iVbPW9wdTNlaD5byh3G
n
https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-43/session-1/bill-28
https://tyt.com/watch/6e6Xst82zYACGGyweSOkMg/748252a982ac1a71b/clips/ef
04c26c90729000
Nov 15 Unbossed
https://tyt.com/watch/c5d128fd80718054c/21d0826ef9de47f95/clips/84b7e080
ab538000
https://tyt.com/watch/7La0dQeZ9nQXiuvqGvQH4m/9cdfd4581b3420727/clips/5
b7f7f6a9f611c00
https://app.podscribe.ai/episode/84082947
https://tyt.com/shows/the-young-turks
https://www.nationalreview.com/photos/trump-announces-2024-run/
https://nypost.com/2022/11/16/ivanka-trump-says-shes-done-with-politics-
after-father-donald-trump-announces-2024-run/
https://www.sos.ca.gov/administration/news-releases-and-advisories/2020-
news-releases-and-
advisories/ap20116#:~:text=SACRAMENTO%2C%20CA%20%E2%80%93%20Secr
etary%20of%20State,November%203%2C%202020%20General%20Election.
news-releases-and-advisories/california-secretary-state-certifies-november-
2018-general-election-
results#:~:text=SACRAMENTO%20%E2%80%93%20Secretary%20of%20State%2
0Alex,registered%20voters%20cast%20a%20ballot.
news-releases-and-advisories/secretary-state-padilla-certifies-november-
general-election-results
https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2014-general/pdf/sov-certificate.pdf
https://www.lavote.gov/home/voting-elections/current-elections/election-
results/certifying-results
Feb 20:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230327215152/https://tyt.com/watch/5Rz3k3CD7
yyU488YokUoWi/33130084b7e82cfcc/episodes/35acf9c6af8ba800
Feb 27: https://archive.ph/Af2Xe
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/ohio-derailment-chemicals-
spilled-impact-residents-rcna71561
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/14/1156567743/health-east-palestine-ohio-train-
derailment-chemicals
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Documents/RRD23MR005%20East%20Pale
stine%20OH%20Prelim.pdf
https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-
02/Norfolk%20Southern%20East%20Palestine%20Train%20Derailment%20Gen
eral%20Notice%20Letter%202.10.2023%20%281%29.pdf
https://twitter.com/JenniferHomendy/status/1626379352215547906?lang=en
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/27/so-far-trumps-rollback-
regulations-cant-be-blamed-ohio-train-wreck/
https://tyt.com/watch/6e6Xst82zYACGGyweSOkMg/66ffeda4a4152d90f/clips/5b
7069648c9eb400
https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2022-general/sov/complete.pdf
https://tyt.com/watch/6e6Xst82zYACGGyweSOkMg/abfdde3d8a851a045/clips/d
c969499f7e5a000
https://tyt.com/watch/6e6Xst82zYACGGyweSOkMg/9387048622ac08a5a/clips/e
02bece3bb747800
https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/status-of-state-medicaid-expansion-
decisions-interactive-map/
History
https://tyt.com/about/announcement/3HL5cJuOwDB0Lth0wuUNrt
https://pluto.tv/en/live-tv/tyt-network
https://tyt.com/how-to-watch
https://legacy.tyt.com/watchyoutubetv/
https://legacy.tyt.com/2018/06/01/tytyoutubetv/
https://legacy.tyt.com/2018/06/01/tytyoutubetv/
https://tyt.com/about/talent/1lBUR818CcK6qKyc4SsmGQ
https://tyt.com/about/announcement/wcC1mEajpRMg5e517NlM0
https://tyt.com/about/announcement/wcC1mEajpRMg5e517NlM0
https://tyt.com/about/talent/5BGp7nS1xeyYoCqWaIGkgy
https://ballotpedia.org/Cenk_Uygur
https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2020-primary/sov/complete-sov.pdf
https://ballotpedia.org/Cenk_Uygur
https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections/special-elections/2019-
cd25/official-results-general/
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The Young Turks

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Posted August 2023 on NewsGuardTech.

The Young Turks

Does not repeatedly convey false news 4 points

Reports on important topics responsibly 3

Presents multiple viewpoints 2

News organization associated with this program adheres strongly to journalistic

© 2023 NewsGuard Technologies, Inc.

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