Black Lives Matter on the Ground and in Sports: Varied Influences of Delegitimizing News Coverage on Self-Perceived Knowledge and Support for Protests

This study investigates how pre-existing attitudes, self-perceived knowledge, and variances in news media consumption, including news from mainstream, liberal, conservative, sports, and social media, are correlated with support for recent Black civil rights protests (e.g., Black Lives Matter) and demonstrations led by celebrity sports figures. Using a U.S. survey (n = 1030), we find that the extremities of narratives in partisan networks, especially conservative media, are more likely to contribute to the stagnation of supportive public opinion. Generally, more news consumption is positively correlated with more knowledge and more support for Black Lives Matter protests, including those held during sporting events.