• TargaryenTKE@lemmy.world
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      14 hours ago

      1-Why did ICE allow Dr. Phil to be in their group?

      Well, he’s a well-known media figure of claims to be centrist and unbiased, so his presence/footage could have provided a veneer of doubt to most other media coverage. They eventually need SOMEONE to play that role if they don’t want to be the literal bad guys

      2-Why did Dr. Phil agree to do this?

      Well, as much as he claims to be unbiased and trustworthy, more often than not, his show is pretty much just “guilt trip the nonconformist in front of an audience until they break down and hug their relatives who brought them here” with some commercials sprinkled in for fun profit. He’s basically a big bully with the ‘street cred’ (moustasche) to get away with it

      3-Why did anyone think this would work at all?

      Well, I don’t have the numbers to confirm this, but as an American, I’m confident in saying that most Americans would trust Dr. Phil, more than some random/local reporters (even if that should NOT be the case). Even if you’ve never watched a second of his show, you’ve probably heard his voice, seen others imitate him, or are at least AWARE of his existence, and we’re more likely to trust a source we’ve already encountered before.

      • TexasDrunk@lemmy.world
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        11 hours ago

        I’m not so sure about number 3. He gets made fun of a lot. Well, he got made fun of a lot then everyone seemed to forget him. Even people with ridiculous accents made fun of his accent (of which I am one).

        The people who believe him are obviously out there. But I’d like to think that most people realize that his show was (is? I don’t know) just Jerry Springer with fewer chairs being thrown and less honesty about what they’re there for.

        On the other hand, I have no good explanation about why they think it would work at all without what you said. So maybe?