Senator Chris Murphy urges internet regulation to curb support for Donald Trump
Murphy made the suggestion on the “I’ve Had It” podcast and was rebuked by White House spokesperson Davis Ingle
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Meme screenshot
Photograph: Twitchy (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Sen. Chris Murphy proposed government regulation of the internet to reduce the appeal of demagogues such as Donald Trump.
- Murphy made the comment while appearing on the “I’ve Had It” podcast discussing his book “Crisis of the Common Good.”
- White House spokesperson Davis Ingle responded by calling Murphy a “lightweight, anti‑American disgrace who lies for a living.”
- All six right‑rated outlets that ran the story reported Murphy’s suggestion and the White House’s criticism.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
54/100
Craft
59/100
Hype
35/100
6 sources · methodology
Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, said the government should intervene in internet regulation so that Americans are less likely to fall for a demagogue like Donald Trump. He linked the proposal to loneliness and powerlessness that he believes drive support for such figures. Murphy explained the idea while speaking on the “I’ve Had It” podcast, where he was promoting his book “Crisis of the Common Good.”
During the same interview, Murphy argued that rules encouraging people to spend less time alone on platforms such as Instagram could make them feel more powerful and connected, thereby reducing susceptibility to demagogic appeals. He warned that without cultural fixes, the country could remain “stuck” with leaders like Trump for a long time.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle sharply criticised Murphy’s suggestion, describing the senator as a “lightweight, anti‑American disgrace who lies for a living.” The remark was reported alongside Murphy’s comments in the coverage.
“Chris Murphy is a lightweight, anti‑American disgrace who lies for a living.”
What the coverage left out
None of the right‑rated digests mention a specific legislative proposal, timeline or cost estimate for the internet regulation Murphy suggested.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 22 Sept 2026, 02:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
6 rated outlets
- All six right‑rated outlets, Democratic Accent, Twitchy, The Beltway Report, NYTimesPost, WFMD and Fox News, carried the story that Senator Murphy called for internet regulation to curb the influence of demagogues like Donald Trump. Each outlet noted that Murphy made the comment on the “I’ve Had It” podcast while discussing his book. The reports also included the White House’s rebuke, quoting Davis Ingle’s description of Murphy as a “lightweight, anti‑American disgrace who lies for a living.”
- The two full‑report outlets provided additional detail. Democratic Accent reproduced Murphy’s remarks about loneliness, powerlessness and the need for a minimum‑wage‑linked rule set, and it quoted Ingle’s criticism verbatim. Twitchy framed the episode as a declaration that Democrats want to control the internet to control votes, and it reproduced a tweet of Murphy’s statement about regulating Instagram use.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Senator Chris Murphy urges internet regulation to curb support for…?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 100% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Senator Chris Murphy urges internet regulation to curb support for… left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Senator Chris Murphy urges internet regulation to curb support for… biased?
- Senator Chris Murphy urges internet regulation to curb support for Donald Trump is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Senator Chris Murphy urges internet regulation to curb support for…?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Senator Murphy propose regarding the internet?
- Senator Murphy said the government should create rules that regulate internet use, aiming to reduce loneliness and powerlessness that he believes make people vulnerable to demagogues like Donald Trump. He linked the proposal to his book’s themes.
- Where did Murphy make the suggestion?
- Murphy voiced the idea while appearing on the “I’ve Had It” podcast, where he was discussing his book “Crisis of the Common Good.” The podcast appearance was cited by all six right‑rated outlets.
- How did the White House respond?
- White House spokesperson Davis Ingle responded by calling Murphy a “lightweight, anti‑American disgrace who lies for a living.” The quote appeared in the full reports and was reproduced in the digests.
- Did any outlet provide details about how the regulation would be implemented?
- No right‑rated outlet included a specific legislative proposal, timeline or cost estimate for the regulation. The coverage focused on Murphy’s general suggestion and the White House’s criticism.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
6- Sen. Chris Murphy: Internet Regulation Could Reduce Appeal of ‘Demagogues’ Like Trump (opens The Beltway Report in a new tab)
The Beltway Report — is The Beltway Report biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chris Murphy calls for 'regulating the internet' so people won't fall for a 'demagogue like Donald Trump' - NEW YORK TIMES POST (opens nytimespost.com in a new tab)
nytimespost.com — is nytimespost.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chris Murphy calls for ‘regulating the internet’ so people won’t fall for a ‘demagogue like Donald Trump’ (opens wfmd.com in a new tab)
- Chris Murphy calls for 'regulating the internet' so people won't fall for a 'demagogue like Donald Trump' – Democratic Accent (opens democraticaccent.com in a new tab)
democraticaccent.com — is democraticaccent.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Chris Murphy calls for 'regulating the internet' so people won't fall for a 'demagogue like Donald Trump' (opens Fox News in a new tab)
- Quiet Part Out Loud: Chris Murphy Declares That Dems Want to Control the Internet to Control Votes (opens Twitchy in a new tab)
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
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