September 2023 Right-Wing Media Report

September Summary:

During the September tracking period, there were 4,103 negative immigration mentions across right-wing media outlets to an estimated audience of over 15,009,835,443 people (including new and repeat views) worth an estimated $462,611,597 in publicity. There were 67,672 mentions on Twitter to an audience of 881,182,229 people.

The majority of overall negative immigration mentions in September centered around the southern border and the number of migrants entering the country. Right-wing sites continued to push the narrative that the border is open and migrants are crossing straight into border states. The looming government shutdown was a recurring topic throughout the month, with sites focused on stricter border policy and keeping migrants out. Overall, sites continued to demonize immigrants by connecting them to crime and even drew parallels between migrants and terrorism with the anniversary of 9/11 passing this month.

• The largest spike of September occurred on the 26th, with sites pushing media relating to the border being “wide open” and “flooded.” Podcast episodes on the Ben Shapiro Show and the Dan Bongino Show each reached audiences of over 34 million listeners, framing immigrants as criminals who threaten the U.S. and take jobs. There was also talk of border security in light of the looming government shutdown.
• The second largest spike of the month was seen on the 20th, with sites focused on what they described as a “skyrocketing” number of migrants at the border. There was a podcast on the Ben Shapiro Show that reached an audience of 35 million listeners, framing immigrants as a threat to the US who are “flowing unimpeded into the country.”
• The third largest spike of the month was on the 6th, with right-wing media focused on congressional Republicans’ push to decrease Mayorkas’s salary to $1 because of his failure to “protect American taxpayers from threats crossing our borders.” There was coverage of a Wall Street Journal presidential poll, with right-wing sites highlighting 63% of respondents disapprove of Biden’s handling of the border, uplifting Trump’s immigration policies.

Smaller spikes occurred throughout the month as right-wing media focused on the southern border and framed migrants as threats:

• A spike occurred on the 11th, with the majority of negative mentions centering around immigrants being a threat to national security and the southern border being described as the “gravest US terror threat in years.” Sites framed immigrants as dangerous and filled articles with xenophobic language.
• On the 17th there was a spike of negative mentions with NewsMax and Fox News articles discussing migrants in sanctuary cities and stressing the burden they claim migrants put on taxpayers. 
• Another spike occurred on the 24th, with sites circulating Rep. Tony Gonzales’ claim that TPS being redesigned for Venezuela will encourage immigration. GOP presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott discussed “finishing the wall” and stricter immigration policies in an interview with Fox, which caught the attention of several sites.