“We Report, You Decide” has long been Fox News Channel’s slogan. What happens when they fail to report neutrally, and you only have one option to decide? Take this 2016 Presidential Primary as an example: CNN and Fox News have been head-to-head on which candidate they deem to be the best.

Fox News has sculpted an image regarding Politician Bernie Sanders as a radical socialist giving free handouts to all, and striving for extreme policy regarding economic equality. Bill O’Reilly from Fox News explains that “’Now the majority of those supporting senator Sanders have no blanking idea what he actually wants. They are hypnotized by the prospect of free stuff.’”

This statement not only attacks those who are supporters of Sanders, but also reveals how invested Fox News has become to twist its viewers’ thoughts regarding Democratic candidates. O’Reilly continues to explain that Sanders’ handouts are for people who “‘are a derelict, a lay-about.’” As an audience member, I would be crazy to vote for Sanders if I watched Fox News because they’ve characterized him to be radically un-democratic.

To set the record straight, Sanders isn’t a socialist trying to strip all monies away from tax collection and give it away to those abusers of welfare. He wants to create a state where money doesn’t keep multiplying for the rich while the people on welfare, who actually need assistance, are getting poorer. He is a Democratic Socialist, which is quite different than an actual Socialist. Being a Democratic Socialist isn’t as bad as Fox has made it sound like. There’s also little surprise they have shown wide support for both Kasich and Cruz.

On the other hand of the spectrum is CNN. Unfortunately, they have openly supported Democratic candidates while ridiculing the tactics of Republican running mates. We will exclude Trump here because both Republican and Democratic media networks are still trying to wrap their minds around him.   

Politician Hillary Clinton of course is the favored, more traditional Democratic candidate for CNN. Though they don’t spend large amounts of time casting out opposition, like Sanders, they put a large emphasis on Clinton, so that their viewers have minimal room to weigh the options of other candidates. Take the Flint, Michigan debate for example: CNN had ‘outside source’ Todd Graham rule that Clinton beat out Bernie winning a B+. Bernie only received a B.

When The Detroit News website polled on the Flint debate, the conclusion was much different: 51,565 voters claimed Sanders as victorious, and 3,579 people voted Clinton was the winner of the debate.

Democratic CNN will frame their articles, reports and data any way possible to ensure viewers acknowledge that Clinton should be the Republican nominee. If she’s the only person who appears to be winning the nation over, people will naturally vote for her. Republican favored Fox News will sculpt any story that attacks Clinton and the ‘radical idea’ of Democratic Social ideals of Bernie Sanders.

Though this seems like a good idea, it’s poor reporting. When audiences believe they are ‘hearing the facts’ but are actually lead to believe a specific thing, they don’t have much of a choice. Media doesn’t just do this with politics either: that’s why it’s so prevalent to do your own research so that “You [can] Decide.”