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Partisanship, Propaganda, and Disinformation: Online Media and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election

Authors: Robert Faris, Hal Roberts, Bruce Etling, Nikki Bourassa, Ethan Zuckerman, Yochai Benkler

Published: Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University, August 2017

TL;DR

This large-scale analysis of mainstream and social media coverage during the 2016 U.S. presidential election documents asymmetric partisan structures: conservative media formed an insulated, hyperpartisan ecosystem centered on far-right outlets like Breitbart, while liberal media remained anchored in traditional journalistic practices. Trump successfully dominated the agenda through this asymmetry, with right-wing media using coordinated narratives (e.g., Clinton Foundation, emails) to inject anti-Clinton stories into mainstream coverage.

Key findings

Media asymmetry. The right and left media ecosystems differ fundamentally in structure. Conservative media concentrated around a hyperpartisan far-right core (Breitbart, Gateway Pundit, Daily Caller), while liberal media centered on established outlets committed to objective journalism (New York Times, MSNBC, Huffington Post). Traditional accountability mechanisms—fact-checking, watchdog groups, cross-media criticism—had minimal influence on the insular right-wing sphere.

Agenda-setting dynamics. Trump dominated media coverage despite critical tone. Clinton's coverage focused narrowly on scandals (Clinton Foundation, emails), while Trump's coverage addressed his core policy issues (immigration, jobs, trade). Right-wing media successfully "worked the refs," developing narratives with mainstream appeal to inject anti-Clinton stories into center-left outlets.

Polarization across platforms. Partisanship increased moving from open web to Twitter to Facebook. Hyperpartisan sources on the left (like equivalent far-right sites) did not receive comparable amplification because center-left outlets maintained editorial standards. The right-wing ecosystem's isolation made it susceptible to sustained propaganda and disinformation.

Immigration as a defining issue. Breitbart's sensationalistic, race-centric coverage of immigration (crime, terrorism, disease, fear of Muslims) shaped public discourse. Immigration emerged as the central campaign issue, initially distinguishing Trump from Republican contenders and later serving as a wedge issue between left and right.

Methods

  • Cross-linking analysis of authority and prominence patterns among media sources
  • Social media sharing patterns from Twitter and Facebook to map influence and role of media sources among politically engaged users
  • Differential sharing analysis by Trump and Clinton supporters to examine partisanship's role in media structure
  • Automated content analysis tracking topic prevalence over time across sources
  • Qualitative case studies (e.g., Clinton Foundation framing) to understand media function and structure

Connections

Notes

This report became influential in media studies and policy circles, documented in follow-up press coverage by NYT, NPR, CJR, and CBS. The findings on right-wing media ecosystem insularity and successful agenda-setting through coordinated narratives remain central to debates on platform dynamics, editorial standards, and information integrity during elections. Notable for moving beyond symmetrical "both sides" polarization narratives to document structural asymmetries in how misinformation spreads across partisan divides.