Political Polarization and Confirmation Bias

The video concludes that the media is a major influence on political polarization. I agree with the conclusion because I believe that people have changed how they receive their news. In this era people tend to gain information from the social media platforms and many have the tendency to choose social media as their information driver. It brings about confirmation bias which in turn increases political polarization. The media has also been more concerned in producing sensational information rather than substantive information. People are continually more interested in scandals rather than information that is helpful. Any news that is fueled by a scandal tends to gain attention and popularity in the public. 

For instance during her tenure Hillary Clinton attracted controversy in public when she used her personal email accounts rather than using those of the state department. The controversy was a major situation that was discussed during the 2016 general elections (Schmidt, 2015). Later on, Clinton was not charged; however, this destroyed the efforts she made during her campaigns. Her rivals used that opportunity to criticize her for her scandals thus crippling her campaign efforts to a certain extent. The media was not left behind, Clinton scandal was plastered all over the internet and the controversy received huge media coverage than any other topic during the presidential campaigns. People became more interested in the news as portrayed on various social media platforms compared to any other information that was critical towards selecting the appropriate candidate for the oval office. Clinton may have lost public support after the struggle emerged. In summary, people are fueled by scandalous news and the media has published news that people want to read or hear. So it is safe to say that the media has a major contribution in confirmation bias. 

Reference 

Schmidt, M. (2015). Hillary Clinton Used Personal Email Account at State Dept., Possibly Breaking Rules. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/us/politics/hillary-clintons-use-of-private-email-at-state-department-raises-flags.html