From strategy to sentiment: examining the role of partisan news in fostering white racial consciousness and shaping attitudes toward critical race theory

Fox News has dedicated considerable attention to Critical Race Theory (CRT), recoding it as indicative of anti-white racism. This study examined whether exposure to these narratives is associated with white audiences’ racial consciousness: white identity, perceptions of anti-white discrimination, and white racial mobilization, as well as attitudes toward CRT-related education policies. Using the 2020 Collaborative Multi-racial Post-election Survey, we examine relationships between white Americans’ (N = 2917) use of Fox News, racial consciousness, and opposition to CRT-related educational policies. We find a positive association between Fox News use and perceptions of anti-white discrimination, with this relationship strengthening during periods of heightened news coverage of CRT. Furthermore, the relationship between Fox News use and opposition to diversity and fairness instruction in K–12 education is mediated by perceptions of anti-white discrimination across ideological groups. We discuss these findings in consideration of conservative media’s recoding of CRT and its implications for accessible white racial consciousness and opposition to equity initiatives.