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Polarization In Politics

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Introduction The 2016 American presidential election demonstrated the ability that mass media has to completely sway political discourse. The modern 24-hour news cycle brought a range of political issues to the national stage in a matter of minutes, but how these issues were seen by Americans widely varied. News sources, ranging from the far-left to the far-right, portrayed political issues in a way to promote their political views, often disagreeing on how to present basic facts. Social media was also influential in the election, affecting the way that Americans communicated with those of the same and opposing political views and how they distinguish news. These elements of social media contributed to the deterioration of the American political discourse and led to the rise of party polarization. …show more content…

The development of these adverse elements raises this question: how is mass media increasing party polarization and creating echo chambers in American politics? This essay will investigative how mass media has increased political polarization between the Democratic and Republican parties of the United States with the growth of echo chambers where Americans are increasingly only reading sources that reaffirm their beliefs. The essay will discuss how partisanship is the cause of this divide in information and how mass media is pushing the divide through the creation of liberal or conservative leaning outlets and “fake news” that deliberately mislead

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