Split-screen debates made settled science look genuinely controversial to viewers.

Evidence

What happened to Hansen, moreover, was not at all atypical. Overnight, the public was treated to split-screen TV “debates” with scientists on one side and “skeptics” on the other. The host would let them both talk for roughly the same amount of time, then pronounce the issue “controversial.” For a while, most of the TV news shows seemed to be emulating the Fox News slogan “we report, you decide.” — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 163

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The goal of objectivity is to facilitate truth, not equal time. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 164; Believing all media are biased pushes people toward sources biased in their favor. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 179; Manufactured ‘both sides’ coverage made the public believe science was genuinely divided — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 164