Media bias, an existence certain members of the press continue to deny, is very much a real thing.
It’s sometimes obvious. Other times, it’s subtle and can fly under the radar.
CBS News engaged in the obvious type this week when it cherry-picked its own poll, claiming it shows that most Republicans have a somewhat positive opinion of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Most Americans — including most Democrats, but just a fifth of Republicans — call [Jan. 6] an insurrection and describe it as an attempt to overturn the election and the government,” CBS reports.
Out of four possible responses prepared by YouGov, the network reported only 21% of Republicans chose the word “insurrection” to answer the question, “What happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6th, 2020?”
CBS also reports only 18% of Republicans chose the phrase “trying to overthrow the government,” while 47% chose “patriotism” and 56% chose “defending freedom.”
Republicans “stand apart from others in offering descriptions [of Jan. 6] that are less harsh,” CBS reports.
The network even made a splashy graphic to accompany its report.
One year later, Republicans are far more likely to call what happened at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 “patriotism” or “defending freedom” than trying to overthrow the government or an insurrection https://t.co/fOPMWveNyZ pic.twitter.com/s3uKKseb5q
— Kathryn Watson (@kathrynw5) January 6, 2022
According to CBS, “A year ago, most Republicans strongly disapproved, but today, their disapproval is spread between strongly and a bit more only somewhat disapproving.”
Certain members of the press wasted no time sharing the network’s supposed findings, arguing it’s proof conservatives support treason, political violence, insurrection, etc.
But see if you can spot the problem with CBS’s presentation of the data. In case it’s not obvious, the choice of options presented in the network’s graphic is rather narrow and extreme — as if YouGov really gave respondents no other choice but to categorize “what happened on Jan. 6” either in the harshest or most approving terms.
Amazingly, something is missing from the CBS graphic and the network’s presentation of the data. To wit, when YouGov asked the question, “What happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6th, 2020?” respondents were given six options from which to choose, not four.
The two options missing from CBS’s graphic are “trying to overturn the election and keep Donald Trump in power” and “a protest that went too far.”
The survey found an overwhelming number of respondents, 76% to be exact, chose “a protest that went too far.” Breaking down the responses by party affiliation, YouGov also found 69% of Democrats characterize Jan. 6 as “a protest that went too far” while a much larger 80% of Republicans say the same.
Why was this omitted from the graphic CBS produced and published on the week of the anniversary of the riot? Were they trying to leave a misleading impression? Probably.
