Stephanie Hamill, MRC contributing writer, recently stepped into the spotlight on “The Balance” hosted by Eric Bolling on Newsmax. Joining the discussion was former Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon, during which they dissected a tantrum thrown by MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough over a New York Times/Siena poll.
The said poll ignited controversy as it suggested that the former President Donald Trump was leading the current President Joe Biden in five out of six swing states. This revelation was not well received by Scarborough, who used his show, Morning Joe, as a platform to accuse the Times of manipulating the polls in an attempt to drive more traffic to their ‘clickbait stories.’
Reacting to Scarborough’s outburst, Hamill stated how ironic it was to witness individuals who had previously gotten excited over Trump’s mistrust in polls, now pull out ‘tinfoil hats’. He reminded them that the New York Times was not doing Trump any favours by skewing the poll results, claimed Scarborough.
Adding his thoughts to the discussion, Heilemann did not deny the poll’s results were close. He refrained from defending the New York Times and instead focused on what the poll’s suggested direction was concerning the race. Meanwhile, Scarborough insisted that the poll had a significant impact and that it was wildly skewed in Trump’s direction.
According to Scarborough, the New York Times is actively engineering the election cycles. He argued that when the poll, favouring Trump, was released on a Sunday, by Monday, public reactions were mostly unintelligent. Scarborough was vocal about his focus being on the fact that the New York Times was currently shaping the election cycles and critiqued people for responding unintelligently to this poll.
The exchange drove home an important point within the mainstream media landscape. The media’s narrative shapes public opinion, thus impacting the political landscape. However, individuals should consume news critically, and not as ‘clickbait’, as highlighted by this incident’s controversy featuring influential figures such as Hamill, Scarborough and Heilemann. True democracy encourages critical thinking and demands that we question, scrutinize, and understand before we form opinions. So next time you jump at the sight of a sensational headline, remember to dig deeper and draw your own conclusions.
