FRISCO, TX — Many people have become disillusioned with American politics due to the extremes that highly polarized news can create. They often overlook the politics outside their circle, instead of being aware of how other news sources portray news.
In a Beyond Talking Points podcast episode, Dallas Morning News (DMN) anchor and contributing columnist John McCaa, recommended fact-checking the news people consume by cross-checking information from various news publications.
“As journalists, we have an obligation to provide access to those resources that allow people to make these decisions… I usually use RefDesk.com, and I’m not saying you’ll get everything,” John McCaa said. “Information is a weapon and we need to understand what we’re reading.”
In a panel discussion organized by the Columbia University School of Professional Studies (SPS) on strategies for combating political misinformation, Bradley Honan, CEO and president of Honan Strategy Group, suggested that the influence of misinformation on people’s political views could become a decisive factor in the 2024 presidential election.
According to a University of Chicago Pearson Institute/AP-NORC Poll, about seven in ten people say misinformation increases extreme political views. Additionally, research by the Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review found that respondents to a national survey who reported sharing false political information on social media were more likely to express support for extremist groups like QAnon, Proud Boys, and White Nationalists.
Sharing false political information online was most strongly associated with getting information on current events, public issues, and politics from sources like Truth Social, Telegram, and 8Kun, the latter two being popular for promoting extremist views and conspiracy theories, according to a study in Digital Journalism.
Moreover, an increase in mediums of receiving information has expanded and sped up the spread of information, making it easier and faster for people to be falsely swayed.
“Having so many different channels and platforms allows information… to move as never before,” Honan said. “Disinformation is becoming more persuasive because there’s so much of it.”
Abby McCloskey, a Dallas Morning News columnist and the founder of McCloskey Policy, highlights a significant concern regarding regulating platforms compared to traditional news publications.“Because I do think that there just… is increasingly an enormous substance gap as these issues get arguably more complicated, as their politics gets more polarized as media kind of trends towards people with platforms and maybe not as many checks and balances as in some of the older news institutions.”
Panelists called for more regulation and agreed that media literacy is a critical solution to the spread of misinformation. K-12 education can develop students’ critical thinking skills to find reliable information, as seen in the information literacy program authorized by New Jersey legislation.
The need for political discussion has grown as views have become more polarized. Writing political op-eds, for example, requires navigating complex arguments simplified for the audience. Journalists must endure the realities of a polarized political environment while articulating their perspectives and engaging with opposing viewpoints. Through extensive learning and thoughtful discussion, readers can participate in informed public discussions and reduce misinformation’s influence.
“I feel like I’m always submitting articles longer than a thousand words because one does really want to give it a more robust treatment… I think there’s progress to be made and … the starting place is really… serious, thoughtful takes on the challenges we’re facing and what are… an evaluation of ‘what are different ways forward and how does that work?’” McCloskey said. “And I contribute my… voice right, and other people contribute theirs but ideally, then there’s some sort of… listening and thoughtful discussion about how to move forward.”
Thoughtful discussion reminds us of the importance of personal connection in journalism. People better relate to articles in which a journalist expresses vulnerability and boldness.
“I tend to…get the most feedback from people around the more personal pieces…[F]or obvious reasons, those can resonate with more people than… compromise on budget reform. And those for me take more bravery to [write] because it’s less…of the bread and butter of my economics work,” McCloskey said. “It’s more…going out in an emotional limb which I’m getting more comfortable with in middle age, but it’s still a bit uncomfortable for me.”
As she reflected on her past experiences, McCloskey noticed a significant shift in the relationship between the journalist and the story.
”There was more of respect for the distance from the subject and a level of… deep professionalism, but that also could kind of translate as a bit of an aloofness,” said McCloskey. “And I think now it’s…changed. Now with social media… it’s so personal that it’s kind of lost that other side of it. And I don’t know if that’s right either, but I think just because of when I grew up and what journalism was like when I did, I definitely kind of naturally go more towards the former. ”
