June 2022 Right Wing Media Report

During the June 1-30 tracking period, there were 4,514 negative immigration mentions across right-wing media outlets to an estimated audience of over 59 million people and over 180,000 Twitter mentions.

June Summary

During the June 1-30 tracking period, there were 4,514 negative immigration mentions across right-wing media outlets to an estimated audience of over 59 million people and over 180,000 Twitter mentions. There were three significant spikes in media mentions during June.

The second spike occurred on June 15th because of a NewsMax article highlighting that Arizona and Texas have sent 79 buses to Washington D.C. with over 2,500 migrants. This spike can also be attributed to DACA’s 10th anniversary, which Republicans highlighted as “illegal” on Twitter.The final spike was on June 28th after the heartbreaking news that over 50 migrants were found dead in an overheated tractor-trailer in San Antonio. Instead of expressing condolences, the right-wing used this moment to politicize the border further. Republicans, such as Governor Greg Abbott, wasted no time blaming the tragedy on President Biden’s “open borders” policies. Rep. Andy Biggs followed Abbott’s lead and tweeted that Biden’s “open border” was what “helped facilitate human trafficking.”
The first peak in media mentions was on June 7th, following Fox News, Breitbart, and Newsmax reports about a migrant caravan of over 12,000 people moving towards the U.S.-Mexico border. Republicans took to Twitter to emphasize this as an “invasion” and that it could be “the largest-ever migrant caravan.”
The top Facebook post was a Newsmax youtube video about Texas congresswoman-elect Mayra Flores, a Mexican immigrant who wants to “put her foot down on illegal immigration.” This post garnered 40,000 emoticons and over 3,000 shares.