Critics of contract farming boosted by HBO host John Oliver, who does long segments on issues

John Oliver of "Last Week Tonight" (HBO)

Critics of contract poultry farming got a boost from John Oliver, host of the HBO show "Last Week Tonight," with his May segment "that illustrated how the companies most associated with chicken in the U.S. take advantage of farmers. Since then, things haven't been quite the same," Jason Abbruzzese reports for Mashable.

"In 18 minutes, he did what we've been trying for 30 years to do and that is just reach a general, broader audience," North Carolina chicken farmer Craig Watts told Abbruzzese. "The story that he told, I cannot tell you how hard that is to tell to someone that is not really familiar with it."

"Plenty in the media are willing to take on tough subjects, but none are creating the type of wake" that Oliver does each Sunday night, Abbruzzese writes. Page views on sites about contract chicken farming spikes after Oliver's May 17 segment (Parse.ly chart):