Three-quarters of U.S. adults believe the nation’s news media is making the country more politically-polarized – and a glimpse of Monday’s news seems to prove them right.
A survey of 1,002 adults, conducted March 30-April 3 survey, from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights asked the following question:
“Is the news media doing more to increase political divisions in the United States, decrease political divisions or does it not have any effect?”
Fully 74% of U.S. adults say the news media is increasing political polarization – more than 12 times the six percent who say the media is decreasing divisions and four times higher than the 18% who think it has no effect.
The Associated Press report claims that, even though the legacy media are driving away Americans, it’s actually the alternative sources of news that Americans are turning to – not the “mainstream news media” – that are “partisan echo chambers”:
“That breakdown in trust may prompt many Americans to reject the mainstream news media, often in favor of social media and unreliable websites that spread misleading claims and that can become partisan echo chambers, leading to further polarization.”
But, a look at recent headlines suggests the “mainstream” media are the true partisan echo chambers.
“Far-right bloc is flexing muscle FREEDOM CAUCUS PLEDGES FISCAL WAR,” The Washington Post spun Republican efforts to limit out-of-control government spending.
A sampling of MSNBC headlines from Monday reeks of divisive, pro-Democrat rhetoric:
- “Ron DeSantis' war on Disney has gone from embarrassing to just plain illegal,”
- “New data exposes Elon Musk's free speech charade,”
- “Why Biden is staying quiet about his biggest accomplishments,”
- “For Biden, Republican book bans become a defining political fight,”
- “Ted Cruz picks the wrong fight with bonkers ‘terrorist’ remark.”
Likewise, the insinuations of Monday’s CNN headlines reflect a similar partisanship: