How US airstrike intel reports became a tool for partisan media: Bias Breakdown

President Trump has just announced on social media that the U.S. has just completed three

successful attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran. News from the President of the United States that

there has been an attack inside Iran. It's been a week since the U.S. bombed Iran's nuclear

facilities. And from day one, media coverage set the tone. From left networks, a sobering one

Since 1979, the U.S. military has not engaged directly with Iran. But Donald Trump has done so tonight

Donald Trump has ordered U.S. military bombing raids on Iran. We are now in war with Iran

Delivering the most sober possible message to the American people, who have been largely opposed to and afraid of a potential U.S. war with Iran

Again, for generations, Donald Trump has now started it. And networks on the right, a tone of triumph

No president has been able to deal a blow like this to the number one state sponsor of terror

The Trump doctrine is very different, very unique than any other president in the history of this country

And I think he has proven that you can successfully take out and neutralize threats in the world without getting involved in forever wars

It's the biggest news story since Trump's election. This is when the media should be providing a valuable service

A major world event happens and the public's looking for straightforward answers

But as you're about to see, partisan outlets gave two different versions of events to fit a political narrative

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When others skew the facts, we give you the truth down the center. Welcome to Bias Breakdown

Following the strike on Iran's nuclear sites, news outlets on the left said the U.S. was

entering war with Iran. Under this lens, much of the noise from left-leaning outlets

focused on the legality of Trump's strikes. Was he allowed to make such a decision without

congressional approval? And if not, is it an impeachable offense? Congress didn't authorize this. No president of any party has the ability on their own to start a

war, sending American aircraft over another country, dropping bombs, that's risking starting a war

And certainly the Congress has a role to play Right leaning media avoided claims that the U was getting into a war Instead much of the coverage highlighted the success of the mission

These, the strikes against the nuclear facilities were absolutely successful. It was an amazing operation

Let's talk about why this story took two different directions. The biggest dividing line in early coverage comes down to how Trump's strikes were interpreted

was bombing Iran's nuclear sites a declaration of war. Some say the president overstepped by acting without congressional approval

Others say he exercised lawful authority, as presidents have done in the past

But the media inserted itself into that debate and chose sides. I remain absolutely convinced that this was unjustified

There was more time for diplomacy. We had something truly badass happen and the media in its desperation to make Trump look bad figured out a way to just poo poo the whole thing to the masses

The left also questioned the effectiveness of the strikes. President Trump had declared they were completely and totally obliterated

But tonight sources say this new preliminary Pentagon report finds the damage was limited, saying Iran's nuclear program was only set back a few months

This weekend's strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities set Iran's program back by months

and did not obliterate the facilities as President Trump had claimed. But right-leaning media pushed back

defending the administration against claims that the strike wasn't as effective as the president said

And this unprecedented strike was made against Iran, knocking out Iran's nuclear sites, likely setting back that program for years, decades, or perhaps ever

The decision by President Trump and what Israel did prior to our military going in there with the stealth bombers, it looks like we've set Iran back big time

You saw the same sentiment in news headlines. The left promoting intel reports, doubting the strike's effectiveness, highlighting Iran was only set back months

The right pointing to intel that Iran's nuke program was set back years

It's our job as journalists to bring people clarity. But what happened

From the headlines graphic we just shared on your screen, it doesn't get more contrasting and confusing than that

But revisiting a common conversation we have here on this podcast cherry picking data polls studies and experts is a tool for pushing agendas If I want to persuade you on something I can say here I got this expert this poll

or this intel report to prove it. And maybe that information is factually true, but if I'm only

giving you part of the story that supports my point of view, that's dishonest. And that's not

what we do here. So let's talk about some of the intelligence reports out there and what we know so

far. A leaked preliminary defense intelligence agency assessment suggests the strikes may have

only delayed Iran's nuclear program by a few months, with damage mostly limited to above-ground

infrastructure. But a CIA report claims the strikes caused severe long-term damage. Israeli

intelligence also points to significant damage, potentially setting Iran back by years

The International Atomic Energy Agency says the strikes dealt severe but not total damage

And even Iran's own foreign minister admitted to excessive and serious damage, a stark contrast

to the Supreme Leader's claim that the strikes achieved nothing. A Washington Post report over

the weekend revealed a call by Iranian officials saying the strike was less damaging than they had

expected. There's several sources and assessments with several different conclusions. What these

have in common is they're all preliminary. It's something our reporter Ryan Robertson put this

way. It's simply going to take time to learn more about the damage done. The DIA report says based

on current findings, Iran's nuclear program was probably set back a few months, not years

But it's worth noting the DIA's report was given a low confidence rating, implying it could be wrong

or it might change. And that should not be surprising, because just like it took time

to plan the strikes, it's going to take time to find out if the plan worked

Things are still a bit blurry being only a week since the strikes

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it'll take a lot of literal digging to discover the extent of the damage

So all of the evidence of what was just bombed by 12 30 pound bombs is buried under a mountain devastated and obliterated So if you want to make an assessment of what happened at Fordow you better get a big shovel Reporting public reaction to the

airstrikes can also create contradiction and confusion. A large majority of the American

people approve of Donald Trump's actions in the Middle East. The American people can see what is

going on. They don't like it. Of course they don't. I mean, a new CNN poll out today finds

that a majority of Americans disapprove of Trump's decision to strike Iran by a 12 point margin

It's easy for media on the right and the left to manipulate polling and public sentiment

to fit a narrative. A CNN poll out last week showed the majority of Americans, 56 percent

disapproved of the strikes in Iran. But an Axios poll found a majority of Americans

55% supported the recent U.S. airstrikes. The media has massive power to shape opinion

especially in moments where public interest peaks. The day of the airstrikes, networks turned a slow

new Saturday into a record-breaking viewership day. Fox News saw its third highest-rated Saturday

in the network's history. And millions tuned in to CNN and MSNBC on days that typically see

numbers nowhere close to that. People were plugged in. America was plugged in. But depending on where

you got your news, you may well have been inflicted with a preferred narrative, putting Trump's

strikes in a positive or negative light. And that's your bias breakdown

checking out, it's from a few weeks back during the early negotiations over President Trump's big

beautiful bill. Republicans are now pushing to get that package to his desk by week's end

The episode breaks down how the media covered proposed Medicaid cuts and how left and right

leaning outlets framed it as either targeting benefits or waste. You can find all of our

episodes on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Big thank you to Ian Kennedy

on our edits and Allie Caldwell on our graphics. And thank you for watching. I hope you have a

wonderful July 4th weekend. Happy Independence Day. I'll see you next time