Jan-Feb 2023 Right Wing Media Report

During the January 1- February 8 tracking period, there were 7,474 negative immigration mentions across right-wing media outlets to an estimated audience of over 59 million people and over 267,505 Twitter mentions.

Jan 1 – Feb 8 Summary:

During the January 1- February 8 tracking period, there were 7,474 negative immigration mentions across right-wing media outlets to an estimated audience of over 59 million people and over 267,505 Twitter mentions. There were three significant spikes in media mentions in January. The volume of immigration media mentions revolved around President Biden’s visit to the border and the number of migrant apprehensions in December.

The first peak in right-wing media mentions occurred on January 5th, following President Biden’s remarks on border security, where he announced his intention to visit the southern border while he visited Mexico for the North American Leaders’ Summit.
The second prominent peak was on January 10th because Fox News, Breitbart, and Newsmax criticized President Biden’s first visit to the border in his presidency, accusing him of using the border as a “photo op.” Following Biden’s trip, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy proclaimed on Twitter that the Republican majority would hold the administration “accountable for creating the most dangerous border crisis in American history.”
The final spike was on January 30th after Fox News reported that there were “over a quarter of a million migrant encounters in December.” The GOP House Judiciary tweeted about border “encounters” (not “crossings”) and their tweet garnered over 95,000 views.
The top Facebook post was a Fox News clip where Louisiana Senator John Kennedy attacked President Biden’s immigration policies following his visit to the southern border on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’ This post garnered 13,000 emoticons and over 1,600 shares.
On February 7th, leading up to and following the State of the Union Address, there were 496 right-wing media mentions of the “border,” in comparison, there were only half of the amount of media mentions (217) during 2022’s SOTU. Outlets ranging from Fox News, Breitbart, and Newsmax primarily focused on Biden’s proposal for “mass amnesty.” They also praised the Republicans who mocked Biden on “border security failures” after he mentioned the current fentanyl crisis during his speech.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise tweeted, “Last night Biden tried to talk about fentanyl deaths. But conveniently left out that it’s his out-of-control border crisis that’s allowing fentanyl to pour into our communities and kill hundreds of people a day.”