[KARAH RUCKER]
Let’s talk about how common it is for biased media to only present one perspective.
It’s the easiest way to push a political agenda – only offering up voices they politically agree with.
Welcome back to Bias Breakdown!
Governor Gavin Newsom’s press team has a new social media strategy.
And it’s got everyone talking.
[KARAH RUCKER]
Newsom is mimicking how President Trump uses his social media.
And left-leaning media like MSNBC – are largely applauding the move.
[LEFT-LEANING COMMENTARY]
“They’ve got a new social strategy that is both pretty damn funny and extremely effective.”
“He’s doing some incredible and entertaining trolling of Republicans on social media right now.”
“It’s provocative, it’s ostentatious, and it meets the moment.”
[KARAH RUCKER]
But right-leaning media – like Fox News – are less entertained by the new tactics.
[RIGHT-LEANING COMMENTARY]
“If I were his wife I would say stop making a fool of yourself. Stop it.”
“Pretending to be Donald Trump is not only embarrassing, it will not negate the disastrous policies, positions and horrible state that California is in.”
“Newsom’s masquerading as a swashbuckling meme lord to mock Trump and get attention on Twitter.”
[KARAH RUCKER]
It doesn’t take much time watching the offered-up commentary to see the different messaging.
And depending on your own political leanings – you’re likely to side with one of the takeaways –
Because left and right leaning media typically line up with left and right politics.
But whether you like Newsom’s new trolling or not – that’s not really the point.
The issue we’ve covered many times is that partisan media uses these tactics to frame the topics in a way that gives viewers what they want to hear.
It’s so common that commentary like this often goes unnoticed.
When really — they’re forms of bias.
Starting with what I teased at the top: viewpoint omission.
[KARAH RUCKER]
I want to show you two panels of guests used by MSNBC and Fox News.
Where on the left network – all of MSNBC’s guests have a left perspective.
[LEFT PANEL COMMENTARY]
“I freaking love what Gavin Newsom is doing, it’s offense and frankly we don’t see enough Democrats doing that.”
“A party largely in service of melting the snowflakes is melting so quickly when one person actually manages to land one on Trump.”
“I have to say. I love what Gavin Newsom is doing. For many different reasons in the course of this.”
[KARAH RUCKER]
So looking at this panel – you have the host Nicolle Wallace, a Democratic Congressman, and two MSNBC political analysts.
They all offer the same perspective – praising Newsom’s social media team’s strategy.
But on Fox News – their panel of guests sounded a lot differently.
[RIGHT PANEL COMMENTARY]
“He’s wasting time, he knows it. He’s desperate, and it’s beyond childish.”
“When President Trump posts a mean tweet, we get world peace at the same time. But with Newsom we get high gas prices, highest homeless, highest unemployment.”
“Is anyone else embarrassed by this? It’s like really cringy ex-girlfriend type behavior like ‘look at me, look at me’ trying to get Trump’s attention and Trump’s not giving it to him.”
[KARAH RUCKER]
This Fox News panel is made of a doctor, a Republican city council member, and a GOP delegate from California.
All offering the same political perspective – dismissing Newsom’s new social media strategy.
[KARAH RUCKER]
This isn’t unique to this Newsom story.
It’s common in other coverage too — where guests on left- and right-leaning outlets are picked to match the network’s own politics.
Who will help push the narrative? That’s the question.
And that’s why it’s a form of bias by viewpoint omission –
Largely silencing any political opposition by not giving them space or air time to share that perspective.
[KARAH RUCKER]
Now, some shows on these networks do try to include a voice from the other side.
On CNN, Abby Phillip hosts roundtables featuring a conservative perspective, usually Scott Jennings.
And over at Fox, “The Five” will often bring in a Democrat, like Jessica Tarlov, to weigh in on the discussion.
[KARAH RUCKER]
At the end of the day – these are the most watched cable networks in the country: Fox, MSNBC, and CNN.
Which means millions of Americans are often consuming news that reinforces just one political viewpoint.
And honestly, I get it — it can feel good to hear the news in a way that confirms what you already believe.
But here’s the catch: in that comfort, there’s often an entire perspective, an angle, or information that we never hear — simply because it goes against the network’s bias.
Now, let’s move to another way networks manipulate perspective to fit a political agenda:
Cherry-picking who to platform… and when.
You’ll see.
[KARAH RUCKER]
This is popular podcaster Charlamagne Tha God being featured on MSNBC and Fox News.
But not for the same story.
His commentary only matters to them – when it aligns with their political biases.
For MSNBC – Charlamagne Tha God’s perspective on Newsom aligned with MSNBC’s – so they showed what he had to say.
[CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD]
“Now if the hypocrisy isn’t clear enough, if it doesn’t smack you across the head, here’s what Charlamagne Tha God had to say about Fox News’ reaction there.
Have you ever told the 45 and 47 president to stop? They need to be more serious? That it’s cool when Trump does it but it’s a problem with Newsom? Knock it off.”
[KARAH RUCKER]
But when his hot takes line up with the right, Fox News does the same — using his soundbites as evidence:
“See? Even Charlamagne Tha God agrees with us.”
[CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD]
“What happened to the threat of democracy talk? What happened to the fascist talk?”
“I’m just trying to find out how you go from ‘he’s an existential threat to democracy’ to ‘welcome back.’”
[KARAH RUCKER]
These examples – highlighting the podcaster’s rhetoric only when it’s convenient – is what we call media slant.
Slant means “playing up one particular angle” while “ignoring” another.
Media watchdog group AllSides says slant prevents readers from getting the full story and narrows the scope of understanding.
It’s closely linked to bias by omission – like we saw with the guest panels – because it often involves omitting one side or perspective.
[KARAH RUCKER]
The bottom line? The media is deciding whose opinion matters, instead of offering multiple viewpoints and letting audiences decide for themselves.
Sometimes the slant involved in storytelling is a bit humorous.
[KARAH RUCKER]
The left – is not a fan of Steve Bannon – a major voice for MAGA since Trump’s first term.
But when he gave Gavin Newsom props for his social media tactics –
Left-leaning Politico – featured Bannon’s quote first in its article.
A voice the left usually dismisses — now front and center.
[KARAH RUCKER]
On the flip side, the right is not a fan of “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough.
But when he spoke out against Newsom’s strategy, suddenly the right cared about what he had to say.
[RIGHT-LEANING COMMENTARY]
“Even morning liberal Joe agrees with me.”
“People on his side hate it.”
“You can see the Democrats are trying to find their footing and it’s quite embarrassing actually. I mean have you seen what he’s doing online?”
[KARAH RUCKER]
When it comes to Newsom’s social media strategy — the memes, the nicknaming, the all-caps — it’s not exactly the most hard-hitting news of the day.
But it is creating a lot of chatter… and could be part of the groundwork for 2028.
All that attention is showing up in the polls.
As CNN’s Harry Enten explains — that may be a sign the strategy is working.
[HARRY ENTEN]
“You go back to 2023, only 35 percent wanted him to run for president. Look at the percentage now who are excited for Gavin Newsom. That’s a 40 point climb — my goodness gracious.”
“Back on June 1st, before all of this strategy, before all of this confrontation with Donald Trump, you saw Gavin Newsom at 11 percent… look at where Gavin Newsom has shot up to today. 27 percent. Now is the clear frontrunner.”
[KARAH RUCKER]
So here’s the big picture — opinions on what Newsom posts on X are going to differ. Of course.
But is it working?
Polls show – his favorability is climbing.
Just as Democrats are looking toward 2028.
[KARAH RUCKER]
When you’re watching your favorite network — MSNBC, CNN, FOX, or Newsmax — enjoy it for what it is.
Entertaining, yes. But it’s news and opinion filtered through a single perspective.
No matter how many voices they bring on, true viewpoint diversity is rare in partisan media.
These platforms often select who to feature in order to reinforce their own narrative.
So when you hear a panel of “experts” all agreeing, it doesn’t automatically mean they’re right.
Flip the channel, and you’ll find another panel arriving at the exact opposite conclusion.
When networks decide whose voices matter — and whose don’t — that’s bias by viewpoint omission. And media slant.
And that’s your Bias Breakdown.
