Immediately as the presidential debate between former president Trump and Vice President Harris wrapped, the spin machine revved to life. News channels were off to the races crafting recaps, writing critical articles, and assembling panels of persuasive and palatable pundits. The next morning, Americans were bombarded with it all, tailored to fit their personal tastes.

On each side of the aisle, critical information was shaved off in order to give a “full” recap to their consumers. In this age, news is consumed in soundbites, shorts, and text blurbs. To see through the fluff, I read through three articles covering the debate. These articles were from across the political spectrum, revealing what each side thought were the most important details and moments.

BBC: Who won the Harris-Trump presidential debate? By Anthony Zurcher

From the center’s perspective, it seems Harris won handily, with most of the article being set with Harris on offense, and Trump on the defense. It also covered the responses from both parties from the debate, highlighting the right’s moderation complaints and the left’s eagerness for a second debate (their hopes were shot down the next day by Trump himself).

The article shines a spotlight on Harris’ personal attacks toward Trump, namely rally crowd size, his January 6th response, and former Trump administration officials that have since denounced him. It also mentioned Harris’ avoidance of responding to a question about the Afghanistan withdrawal, and Trump’s now-infamous Springfield immigrants rant. Harris is portrayed adeptly baiting Trump over and over, with special attention being put on how easily Trump was distracted.

Vox: Winners and losers from the debate by Andrew Prokop

Vox, from the left, came with a proud tone behind Harris, calling her a “clear winner” with “wide consensus.” They highlighted two polls, one from CNN and the other from the Washington Post (notably both left-leaning), to back up their claim of consensus. 

They emphasize Trump’s dodging of questions of abortion and specific policy, along with his more fringe comments on immigration (“eating cats and dogs”) and abortion (“executing babies”). They also mention the right’s anger at the moderation, and Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris. They do not mention her comments on the Afghanistan withdrawal, but do mention her hesitance to talk about inflation and the economy, which Trump has a polling advantage on. They gave a lot of space to Trump’s clashes with the moderation, and no comments were made on Harris’ interaction. 

Fox News: Top 5 moments during the Trump-Harris presidential debate: “I’m talking now” by Julia Johnson

Fox News’ take from the right featured Trump in much more of a positive light, as well as shrinking Harris’ comments in general. It took an even stance on the outcome, not claiming a winner, unlike the other two sources. They do not mention any of Trump’s controversial comments, or the issue of abortion. 

They spotlighted Harris’ proximity to Joe Biden and his current policies as one critical moment, and her involvement in the withdrawal from Afghanistan as another. They emphasize her changes in stance from her 2019 presidential campaign to now, as well as how she had some similar policies to Trump (namely, the no-tax-on-tip policy). A comment of Trump’s mentioning of this was another top five moment. Additionally, they mention the assassination attempt on Trump’s life, and how he had clashed with the moderators. Near the end, they place special emphasis on Trump repeating a quote of Harris’ during the VP debate during the 2020 cycle: “Wait a minute, I’m talking now, if you don’t mind.”

What can we learn?

The ways these three sources pick and choose information for convenience can often lead to an altered perception of the real events, and we have to realize that to become informed citizens. To stay informed, make sure to vary your sources and fact check on your own; For example,  none of these three articles make significant comments on policy. They focus on the personal attacks and soundbites that will be the most entertaining for their audience, without getting into the weeds and comparing the candidate’s platforms and positions.

Leading up to the election in November, it’s important to remember that our views are shaped by our news sources, especially with social media choosing what we see and crunching information down to its simplest form. For the seniors able to vote this November, always remember to dig deeper, there’s not enough time to watch every debate and every rally, so make sure when you look for news afterward to critically examine what you’re reading and why they present it that way.