Liberal and Conservative News Bubbles on Race
Two recent news stories demonstrated that liberal and conservative media each have their own set of blinders when it comes to issues concerning race.
First, if all your news and information came from a liberal news bubble, you may have concluded that the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling on affirmative action was way out on the fringe of acceptable opinion.
You would be wrong.
A majority of the Court agreed with a majority of the public. According to a June CBS poll, 70% of US adults said colleges should not be allowed to consider race in admissions. This included a majority (55%) of Democrats, a majority (68%) of Hispanics, and half (50%) of Blacks. "This is not a normal court," President Joe Biden said in response to the Court's decision. But exactly half of Biden voters also agreed with the Court.
Question wording can make a difference in these responses. It turns out that if you ask respondents if they support “affirmative action,” a slim majority do, which suggests that many respondents don't really understand what affirmative action is. But even with that wording, nearly half, 47%, say affirmative action should be abolished. Whether you agree or not, it's not a fringe view.
Second, if all your news and information came from a conservative news bubble, you may have concluded that banning classes on the history of racism in the US is a mainstream view.
You also would be wrong.
As Gallup points out, super majorities of Americans say our schools should teach: the history of racism in the US (81%), current impacts of racism in the US (76%), and black contributions to the US and their impact on society today (86%). And these views include a majority of Republicans (66%, 52%, and 76%, respectively). GOP politicians seeking to limit teaching on the history of US racism are pandering to a fringe group of Americans.
Both of these examples highlight the importance of a broad media diet. If you let your view of the world be formed inside a liberal or conservative bubble, it'll be skewed.
What Else We're Reading
But the absurdity of different aspects of the decision in Missouri v. Biden should not obscure the bigger picture of what happened. Invoking the First Amendment, a single district court judge effectively issued a prior restraint on large swaths of speech, cutting short an essential dialogue between the government and social media companies about online speech and potentially lethal misinformation. Compounding that error, the district court crafted its injunction to apply to myriad high-ranking officials in the Biden administration, raising grave separation of powers concerns. And equally troubling is how the court’s order, which prevents the government from even speaking with tech companies about their content moderation policies, deals a huge blow to vital government efforts to harden U.S. democracy against threats of misinformation.
Such scam ads have proliferated on right-wing websites worldwide in the past eight months. They use fake endorsements from celebrities including Winfrey, country music singers Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire, Twitter and Tesla owner Elon Musk, actor Ryan Reynolds, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder to promote dubious medicines and cryptocurrency frauds. Conservative publishers make money from each click on a deceptive ad, exploiting their like-minded readers.
Right-wing media figures are ramping up apocalyptic political rhetoric that literally demonizes LGBTQ people, perceived political enemies, and progressive causes, with some absurdly suggesting that demons are using portals to enter Earth and wage “spiritual war” against humanity.
Rhetoric about “demonic” influence and an existential, “spiritual” war has become a hallmark of right-wing punditry and Republican politics ??ahead of the 2024 elections, as Christian nationalism grows in popularity among Republican voters. Language that demonizes and dehumanizes political opponents has been a staple of right-wing commentary for years, but these recent accusations are not simple rhetorical flourishes; a number of media figures have begun to warn their audiences about occult rituals from the left and supposed portals to hell from which demons would enter the Earth. Last year, Trump ally and provocateur Roger Stone even claimed that a “Satanic portal” had opened over the White House after President Joe Biden took office.
Event
The Trinity Forum: An Altar Call: Renewal and the American Church — An Online Conversation with Russell Moore, Friday, July 21 at 1:30 p.m. ET
Book Club
We are also reading Russell Moore's Losing Our Religion next for the AVC Book Club. After a break for the Summer, the book club will start back on Sept. 11.