A study conducted by researchers David Broockman of Stanford University and Joshua Kalla of Yale University in 2022 revealed intriguing shifts in political opinions when regular Fox News viewers were paid to watch CNN for a month.
The researchers recruited 763 Fox News viewers and randomly divided them into two groups:
- Treatment group: 304 participants paid $15 per hour to watch CNN
- Control group: 459 participants who continued their regular viewing habits
Members of the treatment group watched CNN for an average of 5.8 hours per week during the study period. To ensure compliance, participants were given weekly quizzes about CNN’s primetime coverage and paid $10 for each completed quiz. After nearly four weeks of watching CNN in September 2020, the Fox News regulars showed subtle but significant shifts in their political opinions:
- 5 percentage points more likely to believe that people suffer from long COVID
- 6 points more likely to believe other countries did a better job controlling the virus
- 7 points more likely to support voting by mail
- Less likely to believe that Democratic candidate Joe Biden wanted to eliminate all police funding
- Less positive evaluations of then-President Donald Trump and other Republican politicians
The study found that the changes in opinions were short-lived. Two months after the study period ended. Most participants had abandoned CNN and returned to Fox News and the changes in their opinions had largely faded away.
This research highlights the potential impact of exposure to diverse news sources on political opinions. However, it also demonstrates the challenge of sustaining these changes over time, especially when viewers return to their preferred news outlets. The study suggests that while partisan media can significantly influence viewers’ beliefs and attitudes, these effects may be temporary without continued exposure to alternative viewpoints.
Fox News has faced significant criticism and controversy regarding its role in the American media landscape. While the network claims to provide fair and balanced coverage, numerous studies and analyses have raised concerns about its journalistic practices and political alignment.
Fox News has been consistently identified as having a strong conservative bias and favoring the Republican Party in its coverage. The network has been characterized as an expanded part of the Republican Party, helping to communicate ideas and mobilize voters. This partisan alignment has become particularly pronounced in recent years, with Fox News providing largely uncritical support for President Donald Trump and his administration4.
One of the most serious allegations against Fox News is its role in spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories.
The network has been found to promote baseless conspiracy theories, including false claims about election fraud, the coronavirus pandemic, and other politically charged topics. And during the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath, Fox News personalities advanced unproven claims of election fraud, despite internal communications showing that executives and presenters privately doubted these claims. Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million, acknowledging that it had broadcast false statements about the company.
Research suggests that Fox News has a significant influence on its viewers’ perceptions and beliefs:
The network has been accused of creating an echo chamber that reinforces conservative viewpoints and isolates its audience from alternative perspectives, sometimes at the expense of factual accuracy.
While Fox News maintains a significant viewership and influence, the evidence suggests that it operates more as a partisan media outlet than a traditional news organization. Its tendency to promote conservative viewpoints has led many media scholars and critics to characterize it as a propaganda operation rather than a neutral news source. However, it’s important to note that the network does still produce some factual reporting, particularly through its beat reporters.