John Burn-Murdoch
@jburnmurdoch.ft.com
Columnist and chief data reporter the Financial Times | Stories, stats & scatterplots | [email protected]
📝 ft.com/jbm
📝 ft.com/jbm
Musa this is Liverpool summer transfer window 2025-26 erasure
November 11, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Musa this is Liverpool summer transfer window 2025-26 erasure
Did you consider clicking through to the article... on.ft.com/4oVAPgS
Why American-style polarisation is spreading across the west
New research shows how incentives in the modern media ecosystem help explain rising division and negativity
on.ft.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Did you consider clicking through to the article... on.ft.com/4oVAPgS
Of course! It’s from the FT 😇
November 10, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Of course! It’s from the FT 😇
This is the correct position ✅
November 10, 2025 at 1:53 PM
This is the correct position ✅
A single shared source of truth is essential for a functioning democracy.
Without it you’re left with fragmentation, polarisation and a perpetual culture war where the discourse focuses on what divides us rather than what we have in common.
My column from last week: www.ft.com/content/5060...
Without it you’re left with fragmentation, polarisation and a perpetual culture war where the discourse focuses on what divides us rather than what we have in common.
My column from last week: www.ft.com/content/5060...
Why American-style polarisation is spreading across the west
New research shows how incentives in the modern media ecosystem help explain rising division and negativity
www.ft.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
A single shared source of truth is essential for a functioning democracy.
Without it you’re left with fragmentation, polarisation and a perpetual culture war where the discourse focuses on what divides us rather than what we have in common.
My column from last week: www.ft.com/content/5060...
Without it you’re left with fragmentation, polarisation and a perpetual culture war where the discourse focuses on what divides us rather than what we have in common.
My column from last week: www.ft.com/content/5060...
A study earlier this month found that America’s more fragmented media landscape — particularly the takeoff of cable news — accounts for fully one third of the increase in cultural conflict in the US since the year 2000.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
A study earlier this month found that America’s more fragmented media landscape — particularly the takeoff of cable news — accounts for fully one third of the increase in cultural conflict in the US since the year 2000.
In other words, US politicians and pressure groups can pipe the party line directly into millions of households unchallenged, in a way that is much harder in the UK.
This has a huge impact both on trust and cohesion, and on whether politicians feel the need to appeal to moderates or just partisans.
This has a huge impact both on trust and cohesion, and on whether politicians feel the need to appeal to moderates or just partisans.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
In other words, US politicians and pressure groups can pipe the party line directly into millions of households unchallenged, in a way that is much harder in the UK.
This has a huge impact both on trust and cohesion, and on whether politicians feel the need to appeal to moderates or just partisans.
This has a huge impact both on trust and cohesion, and on whether politicians feel the need to appeal to moderates or just partisans.
Here’s the same data, but with trust broken down by political views (circles are trust among people on the left, +s the right).
It’s not just that the BBC is widely consumed — it also has solid trust on both left & right, whereas trust in the biggest US media brands is hugely polarised.
It’s not just that the BBC is widely consumed — it also has solid trust on both left & right, whereas trust in the biggest US media brands is hugely polarised.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Here’s the same data, but with trust broken down by political views (circles are trust among people on the left, +s the right).
It’s not just that the BBC is widely consumed — it also has solid trust on both left & right, whereas trust in the biggest US media brands is hugely polarised.
It’s not just that the BBC is widely consumed — it also has solid trust on both left & right, whereas trust in the biggest US media brands is hugely polarised.
No single US news source is consumed by more than 25% of Americans, whereas 60% of Brits regularly watch/read/listen to the BBC.
A single shared source of truth makes it harder for partisan echo chambers to form, or for divisive narratives to dominate. It’s good for social cohesion and compromise.
A single shared source of truth makes it harder for partisan echo chambers to form, or for divisive narratives to dominate. It’s good for social cohesion and compromise.
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
No single US news source is consumed by more than 25% of Americans, whereas 60% of Brits regularly watch/read/listen to the BBC.
A single shared source of truth makes it harder for partisan echo chambers to form, or for divisive narratives to dominate. It’s good for social cohesion and compromise.
A single shared source of truth makes it harder for partisan echo chambers to form, or for divisive narratives to dominate. It’s good for social cohesion and compromise.
So in both cases we’re talking about the effects of media *even if the situation on the ground is unchanged*.
November 10, 2025 at 12:17 PM
So in both cases we’re talking about the effects of media *even if the situation on the ground is unchanged*.
And on social media, the introduction (and subsequent evolution) of algorithms based on first likes & shares, and then viewing time, lead people to encounter more political content and more outgroup-criticism (even when the actual underlying distribution of content on the platform is unchanged).
November 10, 2025 at 12:16 PM
And on social media, the introduction (and subsequent evolution) of algorithms based on first likes & shares, and then viewing time, lead people to encounter more political content and more outgroup-criticism (even when the actual underlying distribution of content on the platform is unchanged).
Not sure if you read the piece, but the studies say no.
On cable news they found that people in neighbourhoods which were randomly exposed to more cable news viewing ended up putting more emphasis on culture war issues, and politicians in those localities followed suit.
On cable news they found that people in neighbourhoods which were randomly exposed to more cable news viewing ended up putting more emphasis on culture war issues, and politicians in those localities followed suit.
November 10, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Not sure if you read the piece, but the studies say no.
On cable news they found that people in neighbourhoods which were randomly exposed to more cable news viewing ended up putting more emphasis on culture war issues, and politicians in those localities followed suit.
On cable news they found that people in neighbourhoods which were randomly exposed to more cable news viewing ended up putting more emphasis on culture war issues, and politicians in those localities followed suit.
Yep, and I’d go further: it’s not so much “easier to access” as “difficult to avoid”.
November 10, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Yep, and I’d go further: it’s not so much “easier to access” as “difficult to avoid”.
One of the key insights from the cable news paper was that political culture war content competes with conventional (non-political) entertainment.
It’s reality TV and music shows on T4 being displaced by short form video about crime, immigration and gender.
It’s reality TV and music shows on T4 being displaced by short form video about crime, immigration and gender.
November 10, 2025 at 11:51 AM
One of the key insights from the cable news paper was that political culture war content competes with conventional (non-political) entertainment.
It’s reality TV and music shows on T4 being displaced by short form video about crime, immigration and gender.
It’s reality TV and music shows on T4 being displaced by short form video about crime, immigration and gender.
Thanks Rob! As I wrote in the piece I think exposure is a more straightforward explanation, though that can of course feed into confidence.
Under-30s (and more importantly teens!) are much much more exposed to political culture war content in the TikTok and Reels era than before.
Under-30s (and more importantly teens!) are much much more exposed to political culture war content in the TikTok and Reels era than before.
November 10, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Thanks Rob! As I wrote in the piece I think exposure is a more straightforward explanation, though that can of course feed into confidence.
Under-30s (and more importantly teens!) are much much more exposed to political culture war content in the TikTok and Reels era than before.
Under-30s (and more importantly teens!) are much much more exposed to political culture war content in the TikTok and Reels era than before.
With more and more countries pursuing policies aimed at attracting the most highly skilled workers, the UK and US need to realise that perceptions also matter, and — in the UK’s case — that this is just one more area where a bit of economic growth would help.
My column: www.ft.com/content/d70c...
My column: www.ft.com/content/d70c...
Are Britain and the US losing their allure for top talent?
Open hostility and high visa fees are a risky bet amid intensifying competition for the world’s brightest and best
www.ft.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:32 PM
With more and more countries pursuing policies aimed at attracting the most highly skilled workers, the UK and US need to realise that perceptions also matter, and — in the UK’s case — that this is just one more area where a bit of economic growth would help.
My column: www.ft.com/content/d70c...
My column: www.ft.com/content/d70c...
In fact, the UK’s top 10% now have lower post-tax incomes than they did 25 years ago.
(That contrasts to the overall median, which has risen by about 25%)
(That contrasts to the overall median, which has risen by about 25%)
October 31, 2025 at 2:32 PM
In fact, the UK’s top 10% now have lower post-tax incomes than they did 25 years ago.
(That contrasts to the overall median, which has risen by about 25%)
(That contrasts to the overall median, which has risen by about 25%)
Another big factor for the UK is its slide down the income rankings.
Would-be migrants want to join a dynamic economy with the promise of high and rising wages.
The UK used to fit that bill, but Britain’s top salaries are now well down the list.
Would-be migrants want to join a dynamic economy with the promise of high and rising wages.
The UK used to fit that bill, but Britain’s top salaries are now well down the list.
October 31, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Another big factor for the UK is its slide down the income rankings.
Would-be migrants want to join a dynamic economy with the promise of high and rising wages.
The UK used to fit that bill, but Britain’s top salaries are now well down the list.
Would-be migrants want to join a dynamic economy with the promise of high and rising wages.
The UK used to fit that bill, but Britain’s top salaries are now well down the list.
The US remains the most popular destination among educated young adults worldwide, but its lead over #2 has narrowed from 20pts to 9pts, while the UK has plummeted from a consistent #2 ranking to #7, again with a steep fall after 2016.
October 31, 2025 at 2:32 PM
The US remains the most popular destination among educated young adults worldwide, but its lead over #2 has narrowed from 20pts to 9pts, while the UK has plummeted from a consistent #2 ranking to #7, again with a steep fall after 2016.