Replication Data for: Beyond Partisan Filters: Can Underreported News Reduce Issue Polarization?

Abstract: While many news outlets strive for impartiality, two-thirds of Americans perceive a partisan slant in their news and believe that their preferred political news sources often provide only one side of the narrative. This paper asks: can exposing individuals to the stories that their political opponents focus on mitigate polarization? I randomized the content of a real-world political newsletter that was sent to participants who had specifically opted to receive news revealing media coverage biases. In this experiment, one news story prompted respondents to re-evaluate their policy stances. This led to alterations in their issue positions and diminished the distinctions they drew between Democrats and Republicans. These results suggest the need for future research to tease apart the conditions under which cross-partisan exposure can alter political attitudes.