--- title: "NBC backtracks on Ronna McDaniel hire after outcry" description: "Plus, Florida bans social media for children under 14" date: "2024-03-28" authors: - name: "lwang" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/newsletter/the-briefing/nbc-backtracks-on-ronna-mcdaniel-hire-after-outcry/" --- # NBC backtracks on Ronna McDaniel hire after outcry ![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/prc-logo.png){.aligncenter width=409} --- March 28, 2024 # The Briefing **☀️ Happy Thursday!** *The Briefing is your guide to the world of news and information*.* [**Sign up here!**](https://www.pewresearch.org/sign-up-for-the-briefing/)* **In today*’*s email:** - **Featured story:** NBC backtracks on Ronna McDaniel hire after outcry - **In other news:** Florida bans social media for children under 14 - **Looking ahead:** Truth Social goes public - **Chart of the week:** Americans’ views on whether generative AI programs should give credit to their sources 🔥 **Featured story** Within the last week, [NBC News hired former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/business/media/ronna-mcdaniel-nbc-msnbc.html) as a commentator, then [reversed that decision](https://apnews.com/article/nbc-news-republican-committee-ronna-mcdaniel-483647e9eca547a981002e4179d3b2e5) after a major outcry from several of the company’s high-profile personalities. MSNBC hosts, including Rachel Maddow and Mika Brzezinski, [voiced criticism of the hire](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/03/25/rachel-maddow-ronna-mcdaniel-msnbc-pundits-object/), particularly due to McDaniel’s role in Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. During the [last presidential election cycle](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2020/01/24/u-s-media-polarization-and-the-2020-election-a-nation-divided/), **Democrats were much more likely than Republicans to both use and trust MSNBC and NBC News** for political and election news. For example, 61% of Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party said they trusted NBC News, compared with just 6% who distrusted it. By contrast, Republicans and GOP leaners were more likely to distrust (40%) than trust (30%) NBC News. 📌 **In other news** - **Florida** [bans social media](https://apnews.com/article/florida-social-media-ban-desantis-fd07f61e167bd9109a83cd7355b5f164) for children under 14 - **Evangelical** **Christian media **fire up [Trump support](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/god-gave-us-trump-christian-media-evangelicals-preach-messianic-message-2024-03-22/) - How **Politico** is approaching this [election year](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/politico-2024-media) under new management - **LA Times journalists** attacked by **Minnesota police** to [settle lawsuit for $1.2 million](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-03-27/los-angeles-times-reporters-attacked-by-minnesota-police-settle-lawsuit) - **EU **requires **tech firms** to [hire fact-checkers ahead of elections](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/mar/26/tech-firms-poised-to-mass-hire-factcheckers-before-eu-elections) 📅 **Looking ahead** Former president Donald Trump’s social media platform [Truth Social is now a public company ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/26/truth-social-trump-djt-social-media-stock/)after its debut on the stock market Tuesday. About a quarter of U.S. adults (27%) said in a [2022 survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/11/18/key-facts-about-truth-social-as-donald-trump-runs-for-u-s-president-again/) that they had heard of Truth Social, and **only 2% regularly used the site for news.** Among those who regularly got news on Truth Social, 57% said they were **very or somewhat satisfied with the experience.** Meanwhile, an [analysis of 200 prominent accounts](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2022/10/06/prominent-accounts-on-alternative-social-media-sites-mostly-are-individuals-not-organizations/) on Truth Social in June 2022 found that almost all were individuals (rather than organizations), and about half (49%) had a reference to being **right-leaning or pro-Trump** in their profile – higher than any other alternative social media site studied. 📊 **Chart of the week** Our chart this week highlights Americans’ views on whether generative AI programs should credit their sources. According to a [recent Center survey](https://pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/03/26/many-americans-think-generative-ai-programs-should-credit-the-sources-they-rely-on/), three-quarters of Americans say **generative AI programs should have to credit the sources** they rely on if they provide information that matches what a journalist wrote nearly word-for-word. Roughly six-in-ten (61%) say the same about information that was reported by multiple news organizations. [![A bar chart showing that Americans consistently say generative AI programs should give credit to their sources.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/SR_24.03.26_AI-copyright_2_6939ba.png?w=420){.aligncenter width=420}](https://www.pewresearch.org/newsletter/the-briefing/the-briefing-2024-03-28/sr_24-03-26_ai-copyright_2_6939ba-png/) --- *👋 That's all for this week. * The Briefing is compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Jacob Liedke, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin, Luxuan Wang and Emily Tomasik. It is edited by Katerina Eva Matsa, Michael Lipka and Mark Jurkowitz, and copy edited by Rebecca Leppert. *Do you like this newsletter? 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