American politics are more polarized than ever, with this year’s 2024 Presidential Election being one of the most controversial in history. Social media algorithms have a tendency to push reactionary, radical content, and the result is the polarization we see today.
At my high school, several students got into physical altercations following a Trans Awareness Week segment that our student-run school news aired two years ago. Three fights, to be exact. I remember it like it was yesterday.
In my Republican family, I see the animosity they hold toward the Democratic party, and among my friends, who are more Democratic-leaning, I see them mirroring the same antagonistic sentiments. It isn’t an issue of one party being “meaner” than the other.
The common thread is the media. I remember listening to my parents and other people in my life who are more conservative talk about schools allowing students to use litter boxes in the bathrooms if they “identified as animals.” This rumor spread via platforms like X as if it was some kind of, imminent threat, when in reality, this claim was completely unfounded.
Similarly, I have heard many of my progressive friends express fears that if President Trump is re-elected in 2024 (and now he has been), he will enact Project 2025, which would result in the overturning of Obergefell v. Hodges (the 2015 Supreme Court case which protects gay marriage), national bans on abortion, and mass-deportations as well as other concerning actions.
These fears were worsened by the uncertainty surrounding them, as users on social media disagreed on whether or not Project 2025 was even real in the first place. Trump claimed that he had no association with Project 2025; however, after the election closed with a Republican victory, many individuals ran to social media platforms like X to inform the public that “Project 2025 was real the whole time.”
Before the 2024 election even began, the Republican party expressed concerns about voter fraud, with Trump himself saying at a recent rally in Arizona, “The only thing that can stop us is the cheating. It’s the only thing that can stop us.”
Republican family members of mine were also quick to mirror those concerns, with every mishap throughout the election–such as delays in counting or errors in journalistic reporting–being turned into some kind of malicious scheme from “the other” party.
Similarly, Democrats were concerned that if Trump lost the election, the Jan. 6 insurrection from 2021 would repeat itself, causing enough fear that many of the people in my life who lean more democratic expressed a desire to leave the country, especially those who fit into minority groups.
And I believe media and social media play a big part in this divisiveness.
Just last September, the Pew Research Center published findings that almost 80% of Americans “express a negative sentiment” toward politics. A few years prior, they reported on how partisans view each other.
According to the data, a majority of Republican Americans view Democratic Americans as “close-minded” and “immoral.” Interestingly, the inverse is true as well.
This could very likely be due to the symbiotic relationship between social media algorithms–which determine what content fills a user’s feed based on how individual users interact with the content they see–and confirmation bias, defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.”
Despite what social media may have you believe, moderates exist! In fact, according to a survey conducted by Gallup during 2020 and 2021, some of the most divisive years in recent American history, more Americans consider themselves to be moderate than conservative or liberal.
Many of the radical ideas we see on social media which cause us the most anxiety are not as wide-held as they may seem. It is an unfortunate truth that the loudest groups are not always the largest, but often the most volatile.
So, if the beliefs we hold about one another are simply false, formed by the media we consume and the algorithms which profit off of our emotional reactions, how do we move forward?
Holding social media companies accountable is unfortunately unrealistic in today’s world, so the burden falls on us as consumers.
Media literacy is the ability to consume media critically, understanding the biases you are exposed to and approaching everything with a questioning spirit. Media literacy is imperative to navigating today’s world of disinformation and polarization.
It starts with us.
Resources for Navigating the Modern Political Landscape
Linked below are some resources to help all of us navigate current events in a more mindful way. Hearing other perspectives is good, but for it to work, we need to look inward at the biases we hold, and open ourselves up to the possibility that we may have been wrong about some things.
All Sides – a news organization that utilizes a media bias rating system to encourage you to see things from multiple perspectives.
Interactive Media Bias Chart – Shows the biases of different news organizations in a clear, objective way, published by Ad Fontes Media.
Ground News’ Blind Spot – a feature of this news organization that shows you articles that have little to no reporting on your party’s perspective, but primarily on the argument posed by the party you do not follow. Especially a good resource for those who follow only Fox News or CNN.
All About Media Literacy – what media literacy is, why it is important, how to learn it, and—most importantly—how to use it.
The Political Compass Test – though not entirely reliable (after playing around with how different answers determine different results, I noticed the test seems to push you slightly more left-leaning than you may be, though not to a great degree), this site is a good resource to identify where your beliefs fall on a social and economic axis. This will make it easier for you to identify your biases. I attached my results (at right), so you can see what my biases are.
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