Copyright The New York Times
On Fox News and X, it is the “Schumer Shutdown,” a stoppage of government operations caused by Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader. On Bluesky, it is the “Trump Shutdown,” a consequence of the president’s take-no-prisoners style of governing. Who’s responsible for the impasse? It depends on your platform. The dueling explanations are fighting for space online and on television as part of an increasingly partisan and siloed information environment, according to an analysis of social media and TV data by The New York Times. In the month since the government closure, Mr. Trump’s version of events has dominated the discussion on X and on Fox News, according to the analysis — a reflection of the right-wing takeover of X in recent years. Other outlets, like MSNBC, tended to cover the shutdown using more neutral language. Terms pinning the situation on Mr. Trump and the Republicans found a larger audience on Bluesky, the upstart social network embraced by progressives. The blame game has played out in public opinion polling, which shows that views on the matter are split along partisan lines: 84 percent of Republicans blamed Democrats, while 82 percent of Democrats blamed Republicans, according to a late-October poll from Quinnipiac University.
