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The study suggests that the media does matter, and that long-term exposure to “agenda-setting” news can skew opinions. For at least a couple of centuries, children have been taught that religion and politics do not make for good dinner table conversation. A recent addendum to that rule is that these subjects are best avoided on social media and WhatsApp groups as well. For anyone who has tried to convince a friend or family member to change their political views, this makes perfect sense: Almost always, no one changes their mind. Yet, it turns out, that even in these polarised times, there may be some hope for common ground.
Political scientists David Broockman and Joshua Kalla, from the University of California, Berkeley and Yale University paid 300-odd Fox News loyalists — largely elderly Caucasian men — in the US (Fox is a conservative media organisation) to watch CNN for a month. The news cycle at the time was dominated by Covid, Black Lives Matter and the Biden Administration’s functioning. The findings were surprising: Exposed to different facts and a perspective unavailable on Fox News, the subjects did indeed change their mind.
The study suggests that the media does matter, and that long-term exposure to “agenda-setting” news can skew opinions. More importantly, it signals that the silos in which people find themselves, the political camps that threaten to become rigid identities, can be breached. Does this mean, then, that it’s worth trying to convince the rigid uncle, the bigoted cousin, the young liberal certain of his own righteousness that there may be some merit to other people’s points of view? That’s the hope.
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