Media Split in America
Embedded Files
Media coverage of topics is seldom consistent from one source to another. The main purpose of news outlets should be to inform the public about current, and upcoming events, unfortunately, media outlets are tethered to their viewers. Even if a news outlet may have the goal of providing non-biased, credible information, they are ultimately businesses that rely on clicks and views to continue. Having such a large media gap, caused in part by businesses cherry-picking the information they share, is detrimental to the general public’s understanding of current events and leads to more political polarization. Though Americans have the opportunity to cross-reference multiple sources, not everyone has the time or drive to confirm everything they read (Shen).
“We are one America in two completely separate media worlds.” In America, there is much controversy surrounding politics and political media, especially after January 6, 2021. Republican citizens that consume larger amounts of right-wing media are more likely to blame the Capitol attack on left-wing organizations like Antifa, despite the evidence pointing otherwise. After January 6, there was a riot planned in support of those who were incarcerated after the attack. News outlets like Fox News were said to have not mentioned the possible threat that this riot could bring, host Laura Ingrahm even mocked the security measures that were being taken. In a study done by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), people who rely on right-wing media are much more likely to believe the election was stolen from Trump and way less likely to blame him for the insurrection than those who do not rely so heavily on right-wing organizations. Though political views may drive these beliefs, the media divide can push ideas to people and intensify beliefs, and skip over things that may be detrimental to their cause (Stelter).
In October 2020, social media companies were the main source of news for 1 in 5 Americans (Pew Research). These same companies and figures censored or downplayed a New York Post story stating that Hunter Biden had been involved in international business dealings that should have required further investigation. Attorney General William Barr told prosecutors to keep this quiet to avoid the perception that the Justice Department was meddling with the election. Stories like this show how much the political media divide is deepening. Right-wing sources feed into people with more right-sided ideas and the left draws from left-wing sources. Confirmation bias leads consumers to overlook their source’s respective faults, even in clearly partisan situations like Hunter Biden’s. Though objective media is not really possible, consumers can try to diversify their information sources and at least consider issues from another point of view in order to be more informed politically ("Censorship and Bias").
Page updated
Report abuse