Fox News Viewers Paid to Watch CNN Changed Their Minds

A groundbreaking experiment proved that even the most devoted cable news viewers can change their minds when exposed to different information.

Researchers at UC Berkeley and Yale did something bold in fall 2020. They paid regular Fox News viewers $15 an hour to watch CNN for seven hours a week over one month, then surveyed them about their political beliefs and knowledge of current events.

The results surprised even the scientists. After just four weeks of watching CNN instead of Fox, participants were five percentage points more likely to believe people suffer from long COVID and six points more likely to think other countries handled the pandemic better than the U.S.

Their views on social justice shifted even more dramatically. The CNN watchers became 10 points less likely to think Biden supporters cheered when police got shot and 13 points less likely to believe a Biden presidency would lead to more police killings.

Perhaps most telling, the participants started questioning their usual news source. After their month with CNN, they were less likely to believe Fox News would report negative stories about Donald Trump.

The study shows that partisan media doesn't just reinforce existing views. It actively hides information that viewers need to hold politicians accountable, creating distorted versions of reality that push people toward more extreme positions.

The Ripple Effect

This research matters because it challenges the biggest assumption about political polarization: that people locked in echo chambers can't be reached. David Broockman, one of the study's authors, found reason for optimism even though participants returned to their old views two months later.

"Even among the most orthodox partisans and partisan media viewers, those who receive a sustained diet of information that helps them see the bigger picture actually are open-minded enough to understand that their side isn't doing a perfect job, either," Broockman said.

The implications reach beyond Fox News viewers. People on all sides of the political spectrum fall into information bubbles that distort their understanding of reality.

The study proves that Americans haven't lost their ability to change their minds when presented with better information. Democracy depends on informed citizens, and this research shows that breaking through partisan barriers is possible, even in our deeply divided moment.

The door to bridging America's political divide might be harder to open than we'd like, but this study proves it isn't locked.