Late-night hosts mocked US, allies 94% of on-air time following Operation Epic Fury: survey
By Rich Calder
Published March 14, 2026, 12:42 p.m. ET
This is no laughing matter.
A whopping 94% of the jokes delivered by late-night hosts during the first week of Operation Eric Fury slammed the United States and its allies instead of Iran and other adversaries, according to a troubling new survey by media watchdog group MRC NewsBusters.
The group’s analysts examined 20 episodes of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” and NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” from March 2-5 and found 235 of the 250 jokes delivered about the conflict in the Middle East were launched at the U.S., Israel and other Arab nations forced to take defensive action against Iranian attacks.
A whopping 94% of the jokes delivered by late-night hosts during the first week of Operation Eric Fury slammed the United States and its allies instead of Iran and other adversaries, according to a troubling new survey by media watchdog group MRC NewsBusters.
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Seth Meyers told the most jokes about the United States (52), and was also the only host to focus all of them on America.
Iran — whose leaders wish “Death to America,” and call the US “The Great Satan,” only felt the brunt of 15 of the partisan punchlines.
The U.S. took the brunt of the lopsided joke count – with 229, while President Trump was the most joked-about individual with 152.
https://nypost.com/2026/03/14/entertainment/late-night-hosts-joked-about-us-and-allies-94-of-time-following-operation-epic-fury-survey/
