The game-of-telephone election
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
The demotion of news media's role in American life has brought on a profound shift in how facts make their way to voters.
Why it matters: The scattering and flattening of media has created a labyrinth where information trickles from primary sources to news media to non-journalist media including Youtubers, podcasters, TikTokers and X accounts — and eventually to conversations between family and friends.
- This chain leaves facts susceptible to being massaged, spun and outright fudged.
By the numbers: A sweeping survey from The Civic Health and Institutions Project finds that "friends and family" (29%) was the top source of election information among 25,000 adults, beating out news media (26%).
- This dynamic proved beneficial for President-elect Trump. The groups most likely to lean on friends and family for info included Republicans, as well as the 18-24 demographic — a voting bloc that swung massively toward Trump, particularly among men.
Simultaneously, the fact that fewer people are consuming news appeared to greatly benefit Trump, according to Data for Progress polling.
- Among voters who consume "a great deal" of news, Vice President Harris led by six percentage points. Among those who consumed "a little" news, Trump led by 7 points, and for "none at all", Trump led by 19 points.
Zoom in: An inability to convince America of a strong economy ultimately maimed Biden and then Harris. While inflation was an undeniable drag on them, strength on other key indicators — growth, unemployment, stock market — suggested there was plenty of room for interpretation.
- But an eye-popping survey from the spring found that 56% of Americans believed the country was in recession, 49% thought the stock market was down for the year and 49% believed unemployment was at a 50-year high. None of those beliefs were remotely true.
- Exit polling indicates that the economy was the most critical issue for those who went for Trump.
The bottom line: The most-discussed media properties of the election — Joe Rogan and Call Her Daddy's Alex Cooper — highlight how journalists are losing power to set the agenda.
- Taking their place are hosts and personalities — skilled conversationalists and entertainers who get their facts elsewhere.
