The United States guarantees freedom of the press to an extent that is unrivaled by any other country. The complete and uninterrupted freedom of the people to express their ideas in writing, on television, or on the radio has created a media landscape with a large and diverse spectrum of media outlets. Media in the United States serves a number of purposes in addition to simply reading the news. One important function of the media is to serve as a form of linkage between public opinion of the voting body, and public policy put forward by our elected officials. Linkage describes the means by which politicians can influence the opinions of American citizens, and the means by which American citizens can influence the policies put forth by politicians. Breitbart News has been quite effective in its role as a linkage institution. Opening in 2007, Breitbart quickly became a voice in the media that represents the opinions of the far-right and radical republicans. The online paper was founded by Andrew Breitbart, a former writer for The Huffington Post and Drudge Report, to be the voice of the far-right. Over a decade later, the site has developed into a right-wing opinion source that is notorious among other media outlets and politicians for its strong conservative views. Breitbart News is effective in its role as a linkage institution between public opinion and public policy as it has a strong ability to reinforce the ideas of America’s far-right wing and has had some amount of power in the Trump Administration. They are also influenced by the Trump Administration in affecting public opinion to show the actions of the White House in a positive light.
Breitbart is widely known as a source that represents the views of the United States far-right. The site is effective in reinforcing the traditionalist and conservative views of this political sect. In their brief history, Breitbart has put forward countless articles that bolster far-right views and devalue democratic opinions and actions. Many of the articles that they publish have the specific goal of making democratic positions seem unattractive or unamerican, even if the claims they make are extremely over exaggerated. For example, one such Breitbart article from 2015 claimed, “Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy”. The article claims that the birth control pills that some women choose to take to prevent unplanned pregnancies make women appear less attractive. The article is loaded with opinion-based rhetoric about specific ideals of female beauty, such as the author’s claim that taking birth control is equivalent to, “turning yourself into Gollum for the benefit of not having to practice any sexual responsibility at all” (Breitbart). Only a small portion of the article is dedicated to fact-based arguments, such as a reference to a 2009 study conducted by the University of Texas, most of which are used to reach lengthy conclusions that are unsupported by the evidence. In this article, the author used the University of Texas study of birth control pills and their impact on health to conclude that birth control will cause a woman to gain weight at a quick rate. Despite the exaggerations and faulty conclusion, the article represents a very true point of view that is held by the United States’ far right about the dangers and handicaps associated with using birth control (Sherman).
Another article, printed in August, 2016, had reflected a similar purpose of degrading the policies and practices of left-wing activists. The article is incendiary and its claims are exaggerated right from the title: “#BlackLivesMatter Stokes Global Chaos”. The author claims that the actions of Black Lives Matter, a left-wing group dedicated to advocating for protection against police brutality, used “muscle-flexing” in their goal of “trouble-making” (Breitbart). However, the goal of the protestors was not to make trouble, it was to raise awareness about their cause. In addition, the use of the word “muscle-flexing” implies a physically imposing or threatening action, but the protestors were entirely non-violent. The article is filled with more exaggerations and misleading statements (Sherman). While the article is not entirely true, it is effective in achieving the goal of Breitbart News: to paint liberal politicians and liberal activists in a negative light. There is a clear pattern across Breitbart stories of over exaggeration, incendiary headlines, and faulty conclusions, that serve the specific purposes of reinforcing far-right ideas, and attacking the policies of liberal or moderate groups. CNN exit polls indicate that in 2016, 80% of all evangelical Americans voted for Donald Trump. This is an increase from the percent that voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 (CNN). This suggests that political participation among evangelical Americans, a group that is historically supportive of far-right policy, is rising in recent years. While Breitbart News and other far-right news sources may not be the sole reason for the uptake in far-right political participation, they still have significant relevance in terms of readership. Breitbart alone got close to 74 million visits in November (Similar Web). It is undeniable that the incendiary headlines and liberal-bashing stories have a strong correlation with far-right political participation. Therefore it can be concluded that Breitbart News is effective as a platform of linkage as it impacts the political activism of a strong far-right-voting base.
In addition to influencing public opinion, many linkage institutions influence public policy put forward by our elected officials. This is an area in which Breitbart News has some impact in their role as a linkage institution, but not as big a role in comparison with how much they influence public opinion. Although they have had some influence on politics in recent years, they have been mostly ineffective in influencing substantial policy. Most of their influence in public policy has been achieved via the Trump administration. Breitbart and Steve Bannon, the former head of the site, became attached to Donald Trump early in his campaign. They did so by interviewing him a number of times leading up to the primary election, and writing articles that painted favorable images of Candidate Trump. In doing so, they established a friendly relationship with the Trump campaign, and Donald Trump himself began to read and reference the site on a regular basis. Therefore, Breitbart News secured a close tie with a major political leader, and their stories began to impact Trump’s positions and policies (BBC News). Immigration is a clear example of Breitbart’s influence on Trump’s policy. As early as 2014, Breitbart had made immigration one of their central topics. Analysis of daily news articles from Fox News, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Breitbart, and other news sources revealed the number of sentences that each site wrote that contained the word immigration. Breitbart led all of its competitors in this category, despite being much smaller in size. Breitbart, in its role as watchdog, ensured that immigration remained a topic of interest well into 2016. That year, as Donald Trump gained momentum in the Republican primary, immigration became a central issue of his campaign. Issues of importance for Trump differed from his party, and many of them lined up with central issues of focus on Breitbart (Faris). This reveals a strong indication that Breitbart, and other far-right sites have had an influence in the positions of the Trump administration. In doing so, they have effectively been able to influence the policies of Donald Trump to be more and more far-right. Another source of influence on the Trump administration came in the form of Breitbart’s former chairman Steve Bannon. Before Trump was elected, Bannon led Breitbart and its constant praise of Donald Trump. Under Bannon’s command, the site produced daily articles commending Trump for his ideas. In addition, Trump was a repeated guest on Bannon’s talk show. After establishing a relationship with Trump, Bannon was named chief advisor for the Trump administration. Therefore, a major Breitbart executive was given direct executive power, and the far-right values of the site were made prominent in the presidency. Although Bannon was later fired, he spent a considerable amount of time influencing the positions and policies of the Trump White House (BBC News). Breitbart gained significant influence in the Executive Branch. Although Bannon no longer has a position in the White House, Breitbart News remains influential in affecting the public policy of the Trump administration.
Another aspect of a linkage institution is being influenced by outside sources of public policy or public opinion. Breitbart upholds this linkage role as their articles and opinions are influenced by their desire to paint right-wing politicians in a positive light. In doing so, they have established a reputation as cheerleader and as media mouthpiece for President Trump and for other far-right politicians. During Trump’s 2016 campaign, Breitbart and Steve Bannon were effective in reflecting Trump’s far-right values, especially surrounding immigration. This made other conservative outlets like Fox News appear moderate and unappealing to many far-right voters. While Fox News tended to be the go-to source for traditional Republican praise, Breitbart became established as a personal cheerleader for Trump and his policies. As a result, most of their materials shifted to focus more on propping up the President. In this way, President Trump and his policies influence the stories that Breitbart publishes as they rush to show the President and his far-right actions in the most positive way possible (Hemmer). When President Trump announced his executive order to limit the immigration of refugees from Muslim-dominant countries, Breitbart was quick to applaud his efforts and make the liberal opposition seem unwise. Breitbart has become a tool that President Trump can rely on to praise his work and reinforce his policies in order to strengthen his already strong far-right voting base (Diggit Magazine). As conservative political commentator noted “still helps set the narrative in the right-wing echo chamber” (Grove). As a mouthpiece for Trump and his administration, Breitbart upholds their role as a linkage organization through the influence that public policy has on their publications.
Breitbart News has become more relevant to the United States’ political environment as President Trump’s administration has moved farther right. Given that President Trump is an avid reader and supporter of the Breitbart platform, the far-right opinion site plays an important role in the daily and long term policies of the White House. The blatant influence that Breitbart has on presidential policy is troubling to others on the political spectrum. What is to stop leaders at Breitbart from exercising their inside power inspire policies that bolster the views of the far-right, views that many have deemed dangerous and harmful to many Americans. As a linkage institution, Breitbart has the ability to solidify a strong voting bloc for President Trump and other far-right candidates. They also have the ability to create a political environment that is detrimental to advocates of liberal policies such as reproductive rights, environmental protection, and the progression of racial equity. Having influence over both public policy and public opinion is a major stepping stool for Breitbart to advance the far-right values that they hold so dearly.