These are the facts or details that back up the main idea, them, or thesis what is it called?

Supporting Evidence.

Explanation:

An author employs "supporting evidences" to back up and strengthen his point, idea, theme, or thesis as it helps to increase credibility and reliability among the readers. These shreds of evidence may include quotations, paraphrases that assists to substantiate the author's claim and prove it to be true. The evidences aim to persuade the readers to support the author's idea as well as evoke a positive response from them. Thus, the supporting evidences are the facts that the author employs in the form of a quote or anything to justify and validate his claim and arguments among the readers.

c.to compare several aspects of the tragedy to other worldwide tragedies

to show how the cables work.