The narratives around Jussie Smollett
~ 12 minutes read
In the past year, we’ve seen many high profile court cases discussed in both traditional and social media. Often, these conversations look very different on the left and right – you might even wonder if they are talking about the same case.
The conversations surrounding this case clearly illustrate what it may look like when the left and right seem to be talking about completely different things, even when they are discussing the same case. Below, we examine what the conversation has looked like on the left and the right at different points of the investigation to better try to understand why our perspectives can diverge so significantly.
January 29, 2019: Initial reports of the alleged attack
During this time, the conversation took place almost exclusively on the right.
Do not separate Jussie Smollett’s blackness from his queerness here.
— New Orleans Lady (@IfIWereMagneto) January 29, 2019
He wasn’t attacked just because he is black nor was he attacked just because he is gay.
He was attacked because he is both black and gay at the same time.
Now @JussieSmollett can call the President a "Bi*** A** nigg*", but he is crying racism when someone kick his rear end and call him the same thing….
— Brandon Tatum (@TheOfficerTatum) January 30, 2019
Interesting…. pic.twitter.com/CHUjy4BY8s
February 15, 2019: Investigation trajectory changes to focus on Smollett
During this time, the conversation took place mostly on the left.
Chicago police think "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett paid two men to orchestrate the assault on himself, two police sources say https://t.co/GyOMPBEJ5i pic.twitter.com/RvuiTWWY30
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) February 16, 2019
.@CNN reporting that @JussieSmollett orchestrated the entire attack.
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) February 17, 2019
Imagine my surprise…
HOW ABOUT WE STOP PRETENDING THE HATE IN AMERICA IS COMING FROM THE RIGHT.
LEFTISTS ARE ANGRY, BITTER, DISHONEST, AND STILL SUFFERING FROM TRUMP DERANGEMENT.#FAKENEWS #AGAIN pic.twitter.com/yOp6aIyrnE
February 21, 2019: Smollett is arrested
Jussie Smollett is an ass.
— EJ (@ejtwister) February 21, 2019
Now that we’ve clarified that,
A WHITE SUPREMACIST MEMBER OF THE US COAST GUARD,
ARMED TO THE TESTICLES,
WAS ARRESTED FOR PLANNING THE MASS MURDER
OF DEMOCRATS
AND JOURNALISTS
WTF
The news media better get their shit together.
If Jussie Smollett really wanted to be a victim of a hate crime he should have bought a “Make America Great Again” hat and walked around the Southside of Chicago wearing the hat.
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) February 23, 2019
March 8, 2019: Smollett is indicted
During this time, the conversation took place mostly on the right.
::laughs in Jussie Smollett being indicted on 16 felony counts:: https://t.co/cZusQ2MnFT
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) March 11, 2019
If you thought Trump colluded w/ Russia, that Jussie Smollett was attacked in a polar vortex, and that I had anything to do with a terror attack in New Zealand…you are being victimized by an extraordinarily low IQ and a media which is relentlessly taking advantage of it.
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) March 24, 2019
March 26, 2019: Charges against Smollett are dropped
During this time, the conversation took place mostly on the right.
Charges against Jussie Smollett have been dropped by the state and his record has been wiped clean. pic.twitter.com/lHpLvBGc3S
— Stephanie Wash (@WashNews) March 26, 2019
Raise you hand if you never heard of JUSSIE SMOLLETT until AFTER his FAKE [MAGA HAT] hate crime hoax… 🙋🏻♂️
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) April 3, 2019
April 11-May 30, 2019: Documents from the investigation are released after court order
During this time, the conversation took place mostly on the right.
cnn: the attorney general lied
— John Whitehouse+ (@existentialfish) May 1, 2019
msnbc: the attorney general lied
fox news: no plans for jussie smollett to return to empire pic.twitter.com/BdV799jvYA
MEDIA: Trump won't run for President
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) April 18, 2019
WRONG ❌
MEDIA: Trump won't win
WRONG ❌
MEDIA: Trump colluded with Russia
WRONG ❌
MEDIA: Trump obstructed justice
WRONG ❌
MEDIA: Brett Kavanaugh/Jussie Smollett/Covington HS Kids
WRONG ❌❌❌
How long before you stop trusting these people?
June 21, 2019: Judge orders a special prosecutor to be appointed
During this time, the conversation took place mostly on the right.
A suspected LGBT white supremacist harassed a couple of innocent Black women at an apartment complex because they were at the pool drinking wine and taking pictures. He called the police and lied and said they attacked him.
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) June 24, 2019
Will this man get charged like Jussie Smollett? pic.twitter.com/E0Rosmfo8i
Jussie Smollett stages a hoax hate crime: media goes WILD.@MrAndyNgo is attacked by Antifa: media is SILENT.
— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) June 29, 2019
What’s the difference? The left is cool with violence as long as the victim is conservative.
August 23, 2019: Special prosecutor appointed
Neither people on the left nor the right were deeply involved discussing this event in the Smollett case.
February 11-24, 2020: Smollett is indicted and pleads not guilty
During this time, the conversation took place mostly on the right.
Jussie Smollett had the charges against him dropped over a year ago due to nobody being able to prove he did anything wrong. & They will not let this go because he embarrassed the Chicago PD & proved every person who doubted him wrong. I think this whole situation is some bs. https://t.co/sZKGugjUpy
— Bella Goth (@HotCommieGal) February 11, 2020
Jussie Smollett has been indicted. JUSTICE AT LONG LAST.
— Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) February 11, 2020
August 17, 2020: An inquiry into the Cook County Attorney Office’s handling of the Smollett case ends
During this time, the conversation took place almost exclusively on the right.
BREAKING NEWS: Special Prosecutor Dan Webb announced he concluded his investigation into the handling of last year’s Jussie Smollett hate-crime prosecution and found Kim Foxx and her office put out several false and misleading statements about the case. https://t.co/LyLUtZWS2f
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) August 17, 2020
The incentive structure in our politics is completely broken. The more passionately you jump to a conclusion, even a wrong one, the less you are held accountable. If you jumped on Michael Brown and Jussie Smollett, you might end up a VP candidate. If you didn't, you're precluded.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) August 24, 2020
November 29, 2021: Smollett’s trial starts
During this time, the conversation took place mostly on the right.
I just want Jussie Smollett to walk us through WHY, LIKE WHY ???
— The Great Negro (@jiggyjayy2) December 3, 2021
BREAKING: Jussie Smollett is testifying to his romantic involvement with one of the Nigerian brothers, including multiple trips to bathhouses
— AmericaFest Poso (@JackPosobiec) December 6, 2021
December 9, 2021: The jury announces the verdict in Smollett’s trial
During this time, the conversation took place mostly on the right.
Not the Jussie Smollett case been getting more media coverage the Josh Duggar case and he's been molesting children for 20 years….
— The Great Negro (@jiggyjayy2) December 9, 2021
Tonight, Jussie Smollett can rest knowing that his attacker has been convicted.
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) December 9, 2021
Common themes: Both sides criticize each other and the media for focusing on the wrong things, ignoring what’s important, or talking about the story inaccurately.
What we consider important depends on our prior values and beliefs. Because the values of people on the left and right often differ, what is important to one side might appear less important to the other. All people tend to emphasize events which fit within our prior worldview and deemphasize stories that don’t, leading the left and right to develop distinct narratives.
To people on the left, Trump’s polarizing rhetoric has empowered people to openly express their hatred towards minorities, either verbally or physically, creating an unsafe society for many Americans. The reports about the alleged attack against Smollett appeared unsurprising given the increased intolerance towards minorities.
Accordingly, the left actively participated in the conversation after the initial reports about the attack — the event fit within their view that intolerance towards minorities is a big problem in society.
To people on the right, the threat towards minority groups is exaggerated by the left to give Trump supporters a bad wrap. People on the left and the media often make up stories to support their narrative of what society looks like. In reality, the left has no basis for their claims — the Smollett story proves that.
Information suggesting that the attack on Smollett was staged confirmed this view, and so people on the right participated more actively in conversations about Smollett’s guilt.
As an example, let’s look at the differences between two articles covering the Smollett verdict from last week — one from left-leaning CNN, and one from right-leaning FoxNews. Although both news outlets report on the same story and present (as far as we can tell) correct facts about what happened, their choices and language impact how the event is presented.
Bold and underline emphasis was added to these excerpts by our team to highlight the differences in coverage.
CNN: A jury found Jussie Smollett guilty of falsely reporting a hate crime. Here’s what comes next
“Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was found guilty Thursday on five counts of felony disorderly conduct for making false reports to police that he was the victim of a hate crime in January 2019.
His defense team said it will appeal the verdict.
Jurors deliberated over the course of two days following a trial that featured Smollett and his accomplices providing strikingly different testimony over what occurred.”
FoxNews: Jussie Smollett convicted of staging hate crime, lying to cops
“Jussie Smollett was found guilty on 5 out of 6 charges at his hate crime hoax trial.
After a contentious week of witness testimony, counsel arguments and deliberation, the jury found Smollett guilty on the first five counts, and he was acquitted on a sixth count of lying to a detective weeks after Smollett said he was attacked.
Smollett was stoic as the jury read the verdict. The actor sat upright and stared straight ahead without showing any outward emotion.”
The first part of CNN’s article focuses on the defense team’s intent to appeal the verdict and the jurors’ long deliberations due to conflicting testimony. This reporting supports the general perspective on the left that hate crimes must be taken seriously and that this story is continuing to develop.
The first part of FoxNews’ article instead focuses on Smollett’s claim as illegitimate. This feeds into the general view on the right that people on the left tend to jump to conclusions to discredit the right in general, and Trump supporters in particular, even when they have done nothing wrong.
Both news outlets are reporting on what happened at and after the trial, but because they emphasize different information (CNN reports on the prospect of an appeal and Fox on the guilty verdict) and use different words to describe the event (“felony disorderly conduct” vs “hate crime hoax”), the story is presented in different ways.
Conclusion
Some narratives feel more true to us because they better align with our worldview and previous experiences, while narratives that contradict our worldview feel less true, even when they convey correct information.
This can happen for any news story, but stories that include several distinct events and develop over a long period of time, like court cases, are particularly susceptible to this dynamic. We tend to get lost in the twists and turns, and end up internalizing the details that make sense to us, while instinctively filtering out what doesn’t. The conversation around this case illustrates how it’s possible for the left and right to discuss the details of the same event and yet develop two very different narratives about what happened.
Because of this, our contra partisans are not necessarily lying when they disagree with us. Instead, they might be bringing a very different perspective from our own because the information they have read differs from ours. By recognizing this, we can start to piece together the immense complexity of different news stories and remain open to the possibility that there is more for us all to learn.
