Despite polling in the top 6 of the Democratic primary and getting plenty of online attention, businessman Andrew Yang is being treated by the media like a bottom-tier candidate. Why it matters: The discrepancy between demonstrated voter support and the level of media coverage — both on cable and in the online world — shows that the press is in unfamiliar territory in covering a candidate from outside the political world who keeps a low profile. Driving the news: Last week, Yang supporters complained of a #YangMediaBlackout after CNN left their candidate off on-screen polling graphics of...…Despite polling in the top 6 of the Democratic primary and getting plenty of online attention, businessman Andrew Yang is being treated by the media like a bottom-tier candidate. Why it matters: The discrepancy between demonstrated voter support and the level of media coverage — both on cable and in the online world — shows that the press is in unfamiliar territory in covering a candidate from outside the political world who keeps a low profile. Driving the news: Last week, Yang supporters complained of a #YangMediaBlackout after CNN left their candidate off on-screen polling graphics of...WW…

Donald Trump was eclipsed in media attention last week by President Biden for the first time since Trump took office, according to viewership data on the internet, on social media and on cable news.Why it matters: After Trump crowded out nearly every other news figure and topic for five years, momentum of the new administration took hold last week and the former president retreated, partly by choice and partly by being forced off the big platforms.The big picture: The Trump show has wound down because he stopped being president, but also because he was banned from major social media...…Donald Trump was eclipsed in media attention last week by President Biden for the first time since Trump took office, according to viewership data on the internet, on social media and on cable news.Why it matters: After Trump crowded out nearly every other news figure and topic for five years, momentum of the new administration took hold last week and the former president retreated, partly by choice and partly by being forced off the big platforms.The big picture: The Trump show has wound down because he stopped being president, but also because he was banned from major social media...WW…

States that voted for President Trump tend to have high coronavirus caseloads compared to how much COVID content they read online, while the opposite is true of states that voted for President-elect Biden, according to exclusive data from social media management platform SocialFlow.Why it matters: The trend highlights a widespread rejection of coronavirus news and information in states that supported Trump, even in areas where the virus has gotten particularly deadly."It’s clear that stories about COVID simply don’t animate red state residents the same way they do those in blue states,"...…States that voted for President Trump tend to have high coronavirus caseloads compared to how much COVID content they read online, while the opposite is true of states that voted for President-elect Biden, according to exclusive data from social media management platform SocialFlow.Why it matters: The trend highlights a widespread rejection of coronavirus news and information in states that supported Trump, even in areas where the virus has gotten particularly deadly."It’s clear that stories about COVID simply don’t animate red state residents the same way they do those in blue states,"...WW…

"Twitter replaced floor debates in 2020," public affairs software firm Quorum writes in a new report, previewed by Axios, showing the 116th Congress as the least productive since the 1970s.The big picture: Skyrocketing social media engagement and prolific numbers of bills filed that never went anywhere belie what happens when an increasingly divided and uncompromising Congress collides with an election-year pandemic.By the numbers: Congress enacted 28 pieces of legislation that were introduced this year, . That's far fewer than in any other year since it started tracking the data in...…"Twitter replaced floor debates in 2020," public affairs software firm Quorum writes in a new report, previewed by Axios, showing the 116th Congress as the least productive since the 1970s.The big picture: Skyrocketing social media engagement and prolific numbers of bills filed that never went anywhere belie what happens when an increasingly divided and uncompromising Congress collides with an election-year pandemic.By the numbers: Congress enacted 28 pieces of legislation that were introduced this year, . That's far fewer than in any other year since it started tracking the data in...WW…

The mainstream media turned away. But online, President Trump's charges about Hunter Biden were by far the dominant storyline about the final presidential debate, according to exclusive NewsWhip data provided to Axios. Why it matters: The Hunter Biden story — one of Trump's final Hail Marys against Biden — is still blazing away in the conservative media ecosystem, even though it seems to have fizzled on a broader stage.The backstory: Trump and his team had high hopes for an by The Wall Street Journal, and Trump had mentioned publicly that it was coming. But when it posted just after the...…The mainstream media turned away. But online, President Trump's charges about Hunter Biden were by far the dominant storyline about the final presidential debate, according to exclusive NewsWhip data provided to Axios. Why it matters: The Hunter Biden story — one of Trump's final Hail Marys against Biden — is still blazing away in the conservative media ecosystem, even though it seems to have fizzled on a broader stage.The backstory: Trump and his team had high hopes for an by The Wall Street Journal, and Trump had mentioned publicly that it was coming. But when it posted just after the...WW…

Facebook and Twitter's frantic attempts to stop the spread of the New York Post's Hunter Biden story didn't prevent the article from becoming the top story about the election on those platforms last week, according to data from NewsWhip.Why it matters: The data shows that even swift, aggressive content suppression may not be swift or aggressive enough to keep down a story with as much White House backing and partisan fuel as this one.By the numbers: The Post's story generated 2.59m interactions (likes, comments, shares) on Facebook and Twitter last week — more than double the next biggest...…Facebook and Twitter's frantic attempts to stop the spread of the New York Post's Hunter Biden story didn't prevent the article from becoming the top story about the election on those platforms last week, according to data from NewsWhip.Why it matters: The data shows that even swift, aggressive content suppression may not be swift or aggressive enough to keep down a story with as much White House backing and partisan fuel as this one.By the numbers: The Post's story generated 2.59m interactions (likes, comments, shares) on Facebook and Twitter last week — more than double the next biggest...WW…

President Trump's coronavirus infection and the outbreak among his allies has become the biggest storyline of the election on social media through the first three days, according to exclusive data from .Why it matters: All of a sudden, the country's central storyline is the threat of the virus and the Trump administration's approach to dealing with it — topics that the president wanted to deflect attention from in the campaign's homestretch.By the numbers: Stories about Trump and others in his orbit who contracted COVID-19 generated 55 million interactions on social media (likes, comments,...…President Trump's coronavirus infection and the outbreak among his allies has become the biggest storyline of the election on social media through the first three days, according to exclusive data from .Why it matters: All of a sudden, the country's central storyline is the threat of the virus and the Trump administration's approach to dealing with it — topics that the president wanted to deflect attention from in the campaign's homestretch.By the numbers: Stories about Trump and others in his orbit who contracted COVID-19 generated 55 million interactions on social media (likes, comments,...WW…

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/AxiosThe 2020 presidential election features a pared-back pool of undecided voters after four years of a highly controversial and media-saturated presidency.Why it matters: Entrenched views mean there's less reason for campaigns to try to change voters' minds than to convince those already with them to vote — and help educate them about mail-in and early-vote procedures to make sure their votes count.A wealth of evidence suggests more Americans have made up their minds by this point compared with years past:The big picture: Trump's approval rating has held...…Illustration: Annelise Capossela/AxiosThe 2020 presidential election features a pared-back pool of undecided voters after four years of a highly controversial and media-saturated presidency.Why it matters: Entrenched views mean there's less reason for campaigns to try to change voters' minds than to convince those already with them to vote — and help educate them about mail-in and early-vote procedures to make sure their votes count.A wealth of evidence suggests more Americans have made up their minds by this point compared with years past:The big picture: Trump's approval rating has held...WW…

We're over COVID even if it isn't over us.Why it matters: Six months into the pandemic, online engagement around coronavirus stories has dropped off markedly and continues to reach new lows even as the pandemic continues, according to data from provided exclusively to Axios.By the numbers: Interactions (likes, comments, shares) on stories about the coronavirus have fallen 88% since March, 62% since July and 36% even from the August average.Between the lines: Even as the virus itself began to spread largely unchecked across almost the entire country in late June, the uptick in...…We're over COVID even if it isn't over us.Why it matters: Six months into the pandemic, online engagement around coronavirus stories has dropped off markedly and continues to reach new lows even as the pandemic continues, according to data from provided exclusively to Axios.By the numbers: Interactions (likes, comments, shares) on stories about the coronavirus have fallen 88% since March, 62% since July and 36% even from the August average.Between the lines: Even as the virus itself began to spread largely unchecked across almost the entire country in late June, the uptick in...WW…

The three biggest anti-Joe Biden storylines in right-wing media over the last year have either fizzled or are getting less online traction than they used to, according to data from provided exclusively to Axios. Why it matters: This dynamic has rendered a formidable media ecosystem less effective in boosting President Trump as we move into the heart of the 2020 campaign.By the numbers: The data shows that for articles published about Biden since last fall by Fox News, Breitbart, Daily Wire, Daily Caller and Western Journal, articles about Biden's mental acuity, Hunter Biden and Burisma, and...…The three biggest anti-Joe Biden storylines in right-wing media over the last year have either fizzled or are getting less online traction than they used to, according to data from provided exclusively to Axios. Why it matters: This dynamic has rendered a formidable media ecosystem less effective in boosting President Trump as we move into the heart of the 2020 campaign.By the numbers: The data shows that for articles published about Biden since last fall by Fox News, Breitbart, Daily Wire, Daily Caller and Western Journal, articles about Biden's mental acuity, Hunter Biden and Burisma, and...WW…