These Liberals Listen to Right-Wing Podcasts to Leave Their Media Comfort Zone
To get outside their bubbles — and crib some tactics — members of a listening club are plunging themselves into a world they had once avoided.
One by one, the beleaguered 20-something liberals explained what had brought them to a Brooklyn beer hall for an unusual club meeting.
Part book club, part exposure-therapy session, the gathering had required them to immerse themselves in some of the brashest and most effective commentators on the right, including the white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. When they listened, as much as they disagreed with the speakers, they understood the left had gotten something deeply wrong.
“The Trump campaign events were some of the best events I’ve ever been to,” said Amalia Hochman, 24, who used to work for the left-wing climate group Sunrise Movement, describing what had drawn her to the group.
Related Knowledge Center: Democracy and politics
News organizations are scrambling to find a coverage approach that adequately informs the American public about the country’s slide from democracy to authoritarian rule.
Related Knowledge Center: Information integrity
In an increasingly fractured media landscape, truth has been a casualty in the public discussion. Coverage has been warped by the business needs of struggling news organizations, and a significant segment of the public relies on bad-faith outlets that are little more than propagandists. While fact-checking has become routine, some organizations are exploring other ways to combat the trends. And misinformation spewed by AI-driven chatbots has become more of a feature than simply a bug.
Fact-checking and its detractors