When Unfamiliarity Breeds Contempt: How Partisan Selective Exposure Sustains Oppositional Media Hostility

Partisans hold unfavorable views of media they associate with the other party. They also avoid out-party news sources. We link these developments and argue that partisans assess based on negative inaccurate stereotypes. This means cross-cutting exposure challenges misperceptions can improve assessments media. To support this argument, we use survey-linked web browsing data to show public has hostile sources rarely encounter. conduct three survey experiments demonstrate nonpolitical or neutral political stories, forms widely available from online partisan sources, reduces oppositional hostility. explains how perceptions rampant bias coexist more modest differences in content major outlets. More broadly, illustrate sustain animus towards an out-group when people encounters them.