It’s not the fault of right-wing news
I am definitely not breaking new ground when I say that the US public is polarised.
The US public has become increasingly polarized over the last two to three decades, with many blaming cable news outlets like Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN on the right, and MSNBC on the left. However, a new study from the Tinbergen Institute suggests that media consumption is not the primary cause of this polarization. Instead, it is the social circles and communities in which individuals live that have the most significant impact on their views.
The study found that changes in a person's news sources had little effect on their opinions regarding climate change, while differences in social circles resulted in vastly different perspectives on the issue. This suggests that the people we interact with on a daily basis have a more significant impact on our beliefs than the media we consume.
Furthermore, the more diverse and mixed the social environment, the less likely people are to hold extreme political views and the more likely they are to be concerned about climate change. Conversely, living in a socially homogeneous bubble leads to increased polarization and diminished concern for climate change. This phenomenon applies to individuals on both the left and right of the political spectrum, as their social circles increasingly shape their opinions.
Written by urgent.news from Klement on Investing's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
