00:00Let's talk about how common it is for biased media to only present one perspective.
00:06It's the easiest way to push a political agenda,
00:09only offering up voices they politically agree with.
00:12Welcome back to Bias Breakdown.
00:15Governor Gavin Newsom's press team has a new social media strategy,
00:19and it's got everyone talking.
00:21Newsom is mimicking how President Trump uses his social media,
00:24and left-leaning media like MSNBC are largely applauding the move.
00:30They've got a new social media strategy that is both, I gotta say, pretty damn funny and I think extremely effective.
00:35He's doing some incredible and pretty entertaining trolling of Republicans on social media right now.
00:42It's provocative, it's ostentatious, and it meets the moment.
00:45But right-leaning media, like Fox News, are less entertained by the new tactics.
00:50If I were his wife, I would say, you are making a fool of yourself. Stop it.
00:56Pretending to be President Trump is not only embarrassing,
00:59it will not negate the disastrous policies and positions and the horrible state that California's in.
01:06Newsom's masquerading as a swashbuckling meme lord to mock Trump and get attention on Twitter.
01:12It doesn't take much time watching the offered-up commentary to see the different messaging.
01:17And depending on your own political leanings, you're likely to side with one of the takeaways,
01:23because left- and right-leaning media typically line up with left- and right politics.
01:29But whether you like Newsom's new trolling or not, that's not really the point here.
01:33The issue we've covered many times is that partisan media uses these tactics to frame the topics
01:39in a way that gives viewers what they want to hear.
01:42It's so common that commentary like this often goes unnoticed.
01:46When really, they're forms of bias.
01:49Starting with what I teased at the top, viewpoint omission.
01:53I want to show you two panels of guests used by MSNBC and Fox News,
01:58where on the left network, all of MSNBC's guests have a left perspective.
02:04I freaking love what Governor Newsom is doing,
02:06because that's what offense looks like,
02:09and we don't see enough Democrats, frankly, doing that.
02:13A party founded largely, like, in service of melting the snowflakes is melting so quickly
02:18when one person actually lays a hand, you know, like, manages to land one on Trump.
02:25I have to say, I love what Gavin Newsom's doing for many different reasons in the course of this.
02:30So looking at this panel, you have the host, Nicole Wallace,
02:34a Democratic congressman and two MSNBC political analysts.
02:39They all offer the same perspective, phrasing Newsom's social media team's strategy.
02:45But on Fox News, their panel of guests sounded a lot differently.
02:49He's wasting time. He knows it.
02:51He's desperate. And it's, you know, beyond childish.
02:53It's frankly sad.
02:54When President Trump posts a mean tweet, we get world peace at the same time.
03:00But with Gavin Newsom, we get high gas prices, highest homelessness, highest unemployment.
03:06Is anybody else embarrassed by this?
03:08It's, like, really cringy ex-girlfriend-like behavior.
03:11Like, look at me, look at me.
03:12He's trying to get Trump's attention, and Trump's not giving it to him.
03:15This Fox News panel is made up of a doctor, a Republican city council member,
03:19and a GOP delegate from California, all offering the same political perspective,
03:26dismissing Newsom's new social media strategy.
03:29This isn't unique to this Newsom story.
03:31It's common in other coverage, too, where guests on left- and right-leaning outlets are picked
03:37to match the network's own politics.
03:40Who will help push the narrative?
03:42That's the question.
03:44And that's why it's a form of bias by viewpoint omission,
03:47largely silencing any political opposition by not giving them space or airtime to share that perspective.
03:55Now, some shows on these networks do try to include at least a voice from the other side.
04:01On CNN, Abby Phillip hosts roundtables featuring a conservative perspective, usually Scott Jennings.
04:08And over at Fox News, the Five will often bring in a Democrat like Jessica Tarloff to weigh in on the discussion.
04:15At the end of the day, these are the most watched cable networks in the country.
04:20Fox, MSNBC, and CNN.
04:22Which means millions of Americans are often consuming news that reinforces just one political viewpoint.
04:30And honestly, I get it.
04:31It can feel good to hear the news in a way that confirms what you already believe.
04:36But here's the catch.
04:37In that comfort, there's often an entire perspective, an angle, or information that we never hear,
04:45simply because it goes against the network's bias.
04:49Now let's move to another way networks manipulate perspective to fit a political agenda.
04:54Cherry-picking who to platform and when.
04:57You'll see.
04:58This is popular podcaster Charlemagne Tha God being featured on MSNBC and Fox News.
05:05But not for the same story.
05:07His commentary only matters to them when it aligns with their political biases.
05:13For MSNBC, Charlemagne Tha God's perspective on Newsom aligned with MSNBC's.
05:19So they showed what he had to say.
05:21Now if the hypocrisy in all of this isn't clear enough, if it doesn't smack you on the side of the head,
05:28here's what podcaster and radio host Charlemagne Tha God had to say about Fox News' reaction there.
05:34Have you ever told the 45th and 47th president of the United States of America to stop?
05:39Have you ever told the 45th and 47th president of the United States of America that they need to be more serious,
05:44to act like it's cool when Trump do it, but it's a problem when Gavin does it?
05:47Knock it off.
05:48But when his hot takes line up with the right, then Fox News does the same thing,
05:53using his sound bites as evidence.
05:56See, even Charlemagne Tha God agrees with us.
06:00Charlemagne Tha God questioning how Joe Biden went from calling Trump a threat to democracy
06:05to being all smiles with the president-elect in the Oval Office.
06:09What happened to the threat of democracy talk?
06:11What happened to the fascist talk?
06:13I'm just trying to figure out how do you go from he's an essential threat to democracy.
06:18So welcome back.
06:19These examples highlighting the podcaster's rhetoric only when it's convenient is what we call media slant.
06:25Slant means playing up one particular angle while ignoring another.
06:31Media watchdog group AllSide says slant prevents readers from getting the full story
06:36and narrows the scope of understanding.
06:39It's closely linked to bias by omission, like we just talked about with the guest panels,
06:44because it often involves omitting one side or perspective.
06:48The bottom line, the media, is deciding whose opinion matters,
06:54instead of offering up multiple viewpoints and letting audiences decide for themselves.
07:00Sometimes the slant involved in storytelling is even a bit humorous.
07:05The left is not a fan of Steve Bannon, a major voice for MAGA since Trump's first term.
07:12But when he gave Gavin Newsom props for his social media tactics,
07:17left-leaning Politico featured Bannon's quote first in its article,
07:21a voice the left usually dismisses, now front and center.
07:25On the flip side, the right is not a fan of Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough.
07:31But when he spoke out against Newsom's strategy,
07:34suddenly the right cared about what he had to say.
07:37Even Morning liberal Joe agrees with me.
07:41People on his side hate it.
07:42The Democrats are trying to find their footing,
07:46and it's quite embarrassing, actually.
07:49I mean, Gavin Newsom, I mean, have you seen what he's doing online?
07:52When it comes to Newsom's social media strategy,
07:55the memes, the nicknaming, the all caps,
07:58it's not exactly the most hard-hitting news of the day.
08:01But it is creating a lot of chatter,
08:04and could be part of the groundwork for 2028.
08:07All that attention is showing up in the polls,
08:10as CNN's Harry Enten explains, that may be a sign the strategy is working.
08:15You go back to 2023, just 35% wanted him to run for president.
08:21Look at the percentage now who are excited for a run for president for Gavin Newsom.
08:25What is that?
08:26That's a 40-point climb, my goodness gracious.
08:29Back on June 1st, before all this strategy,
08:31before all this confrontation with Donald Trump,
08:33you saw Gavin Newsom 11%, AOC at 10%,
08:35Bruder Judge at 8%.
08:36Look at where Gavin Newsom has shot up to now.
08:3927% now is the clear frontrunner.
08:42So, here's the big picture.
08:44Opinions on what Newsom posts on X are going to differ, of course.
08:49But is it working?
08:50Polls show his favorability is climbing,
08:53just as Democrats are looking toward 2028.
08:57When you're watching your favorite network,
08:59MSNBC, CNN, Fox, or Newsmax,
09:02enjoy it for what it is.
09:04It's entertaining, yeah.
09:06But it's news and opinion filtered through a single perspective.
09:09No matter how many voices they bring on,
09:12true viewpoint diversity is rare in partisan media.
09:16These platforms only select who to feature
09:19in order to reinforce their own narrative.
09:23So when you hear a panel of experts all agreeing,
09:26it doesn't automatically mean they're right.
09:28Flip the channel and you'll find another panel
09:31arriving at the exact opposite conclusion.
09:34When networks decide whose voices matter and whose don't,
09:38that's bias by viewpoint omission and media slant.
09:43And that's your bias breakdown.
09:46Thanks so much for watching this week's episode.
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10:08Just search Bias Breakdown and we should pop up.
10:12It's easy to watch the news that you agree with,
10:15and that's a large part of our media consumption.
10:18We tend to gravitate toward the networks and news outlets
10:21that match our own political biases.
10:23But to be better informed,
10:26you must sometimes challenge your own political beliefs and biases.
10:31And I don't mean we need to rethink our own opinions.
10:34It's normal to have our own opinions on national events and major issues.
10:39But being aware of and knowledgeable about what the other side thinks
10:43or what the other side is hearing and reading from other news outlets,
10:48that can serve as a really beneficial thing.
10:51Because instead of just being inside our own news consumption bubble,
10:55we can then understand why others believe the way that they do.
11:00And that's the sort of thing you just don't get a lot of
11:02from many news outlets nowadays.
11:05That's something that I want you to be able to always find here.
11:09A big thank you to Ian and Allie for their video editing
11:13and graphics work on this week's episode.
11:16And thank you for watching.
11:18I'll see you next time.
11:21I'll see you next time.
11:21I'll see you next time.
11:22I'll see you next time.
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