Counter a Reactive Media System

US media and politics are defined by asymmetry and reactivity, with the Left operating by one set of rules and the Right by another. How should we respond to a right-wing media ecosystem increasingly detached from the facts but that reacts aggressively to news coverage and social media discourses from the political center and left? In this chapter, we argue that in a changing media ecology characterized by such asymmetric modes of interaction, we need fact-checking organizations, news outlets, platforms, academics, and foundations to commit to “frame-checking,” a device for countering the political right’s efforts not only to mislead but to distract and disorient. Publicizing frame diversions, we argue, will shed light on how the Right often ignores important events, promoting in their stead spurious interpretations and irrelevant events that dangerously disrupt the routines of enlightened public discourse.