CBS Waxes Distraught Over Divided America While Manipulatively Sensationalizing ‘Insurrection’ Poll

We Americans don’t really need anyone to help fuel division or hyper-partisanship. We’re pretty good at it already. A CBS News graphic about a single question in a single poll isn’t going to be the straw to break the Gadsden Flag’s back, let’s be real.

But the result of an action isn’t the same thing as the intent behind it, or even its role in a larger picture. A single arrow may not stop conquer Leonidas, but that doesn’t mean Xerxes wasn’t trying to throw shade. Or that a thousand similar arrows didn’t create it. And the arrow in this case is aimed directly at the archer’s own premise.

If you don’t like the arrow analogy, consider it a nit. Let’s pick it, shall we?

A CBS News/YouGov poll out this week has raised alarms about political divisions and the potential for violence. For a variety of obvious January reasons, that worry is mainly about violence by the right, although such fears do go both ways broadly speaking. Republicans worry that a softball practice can be shot at with intent to murder just as much as Democrats worry that MAGA will violently storm Congress, attacking cops with American flags, while hunting Democrats to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

The survey asked several questions about the mood and feeling in the country. But, also asked respondents to reflect on the eventful first week of 2021.

The results weren’t sunny. For one example, both Republicans and Democrats in no small number see each other as an “enemy” out to “destroy” their “way of life.”

But a sexier question was asked on the subject of the riots themselves. Or whatever you want to call them. And in fact, that was the question: What do you call what happened?

Take a look at the graphic CBS News included in their article:

Uh-oh. Not good. Whereas Democrats bravely describe that day’s events with the word “insurrection,” Republicans cravenly avoid it in favor of “patriotism.” Right? Isn’t that what it says?

Although… the numbers don’t quite stop at 100%, though, so I guess we’ll have to look at the exact questions.

For each phrase in that image, the question was whether or not it fit. For example: “Thinking about the people who forced their way into the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Would you describe their actions as an insurrection?”

The results, then, are based on whether the respondent answered yes or no to each phrase, with none excluding any other. You can say yes to “insurrection” and to “patriotism.” You know, if you’re not great at definitions.

So far so good? Good. Here’s the thing. That shareable graphic that made a splash doesn’t include all the phrases the respondents were asked to agree or disagree with. Two were left off. One of them was kind of important.

I took the liberty of revising the graphic, using the YES/NO from the questions rather than the party ID, and to include what was excluded.

The top answer wasn’t in the graphic: A protest that went too far, with 76% of adults saying yes.

The by-party numbers are telling, too. On whether they’d describe it as “a protest that went too far,” 80% of Republicans said yes, and 69% of Democrats said yes. Those are huge majorities and only 11 points apart.

On whether to describe it as an “insurrection,” 85% of Democrats said yes, 21% of Republicans, and 56% of Independents. So hugely divided on that word choice.

The question of the missing line item on the graphic isn’t as trivial as you may think. We’re talking intent here. Perhaps you’ll get a better feel for why when you watch this appalling on-air report from Monday’s CBS Evening News.

You see it now? Hear it?

Look, first of all, you don’t have to help bad news be bad. The poll result had some silver linings but it wasn’t good news by any stretch. You don’t have to enhance the poll result.

But CBS did anyway. That on-air report leaves you with the impression that Democrats are all correctly using the correct term insurrection for The Insurrection™ (which was caused by The Big Lie™ [patent pending] by the way) and that Republicans are both happy and in denial about The Insurrection™, and super jazzed for the next one.

Insurrection? Out of hand protest? Neither? Both? Does it matter?

Encyclopedia Britannica defines an insurrection as “an organized and usually violent act of revolt or rebellion against an established government or governing authority of a nation-state or other political entity by a group of its citizens or subjects; also, any act of engaging in such a revolt.”

By comparison, Merriam-Webster defines “out of hand” as “out of control.”

I’m not here to correct anyone using the CNN-approved branding, but I will point out that Britannica goes on to say an insurrection “may be initiated or provoked by an act of sedition, which is an incitement to revolt or rebellion.” So sedition does seem less contradicted by “out of hand” and might work even better in this list. Nevertheless, the poll said “insurrection.”

At issue is the fact that, in reporting on political division and violence, the description of January 6th that had the most agreement was left out, and CBS Evening News made it sound like multiple choice.

Maybe with Donald Trump still spinning the same yarns and the GOP unwilling abandon that ship, the die is cast. Maybe Democrats and Republicans just hate each other and nobody can do anything about it. Right? Maybe Republicans think Democrats want to ruin their lives, and Democrats think Republicans want to ruin theirs, and never the twain shall meet in peace?

Maybe.

But maybe it doesn’t help when CBS News plays coy with their own poll result to put the most divisive parts in stark relief, and the parts that have the most concordance in the bin.

It’s worth asking. Maybe next week there can be a poll on that. Maybe CBS News and YouGov can poll people next week about how the media handled this week. I bet that would be interesting.

If it’s reported accurately, that is.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.