Dissecting leftism

Sesame Street and Friends 'pumping out left wing messages'

Sesame Street, Friends and Happy Days are being used to promote secret left wing messages, according to a new book.

Conservative columnist and author Ben Shapiro accused television executives and writers of pushing a liberal agenda in several high profile American television entertainment shows.

His book "Primetime Propaganda" will show how the "most powerful medium of mass communication in human history became a vehicle for spreading the radical agenda of the left side of the political spectrum," according to the publishers HarperCollins.

Shapiro interviewed dozens of leading industry figures, some of whom admitted to including a left wing bias in their shows. The results showed "unrepentant abuses of the Hollywood entertainment industry" and how movers and shakers in the television world tried to "shape America in their own leftist image".

One of the founders of Sesame Street told him that the show had sought to address how conflict could be resolved peacefully after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Insiders also told him that the Korean War medical comedy MASH promoted pacifism and Happy Days had an anti-Vietnam War subtext.Sesame Street has previously been accused of being left wing. In 2009 an episode mocked Fox News. The segment showed the character of Oscar as a reporter for the Grouch News Network and had a viewer telling him: "From now on I am watching 'Pox' News. Now there is a trashy news show."

The Public Broadcasting Service ombudsman later said he "didn't know what was in the head of the producers" and that they should not tell people what to think "through the kids".