June 2024 Right-Wing Media Report

June Summary:

During the June tracking period, there were 4,037 negative immigration mentions across right-wing media outlets (+29% from May) to an estimated audience of 21,120,459,705 people (+64% from May) worth an estimated $695,818,434 in publicity (+127% from May). 

Mainstream media: 

During the June tracking period, there were 10,379 negative immigration mentions across mainstream media outlets to an estimated audience of 48,989,313,019 people, in total worth an estimated $1,060,858,740 in publicity.

In June, right-wing media infused anti-immigrant buzzwords into their coverage of the border and the upcoming presidential election: 

• “Illegal immigration” was mentioned 466 times 
• “Illegal alien(s)” was mentioned over 380 times
• The phrases “border crisis” and “border surge” were mentioned over 300 times 
• “Open border” was mentioned 245 times 
• “Fentanyl” and “illegal immigration and fentanyl” were mentioned over 230 times 

Right-wing media framed Democrats and the Biden administration as standing for “open borders” and allowing a “mass invasion” of immigrants. Sites also discussed the Biden-Trump debate and uplifted Trump’s remarks. Mentions came from sites including: 

• Fox News article and broadcast
• Dan Bongino Show 
• Charlie Kirk Show

In June, right-wing voices and news sites pushed an excessive amount of media framing immigrants at the border as terrorists and drove the narrative that America’s interior faces imminent threat of attack: 

• “Terrorists coming across the US border should concern ‘every American’: Tom Homan” (Fox News).
• “Ted Cruz warns Biden’s border crisis puts US at risk of a ‘major terrorist attack” (Fox News).
• “Sean Hannity: The world’s most dangerous terrorists are coming across Joe Biden’s wide-open southern border” (Fox News). 
• “The ‘CBP One’ phone app entry scheme has brought in 888 other Tajiks, plus thousands more, from nations of terrorism concern” (Daily Wire).
• “More terrorist associated individuals crossing the border than in any other time in our history” (Fox News Rundown Podcast).

Sites across the right-wing media ecosystem continued to tie immigration to crime and pushed several stories that described violent crimes supposedly committed by undocumented people:

• Various Fox News articles criminalized immigrants and argued that there is an “illegal immigrant crime epidemic.”
• The Daily Wire published several articles about alleged crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.