A deep dive into the alternative media that Republican and right-leaning independent voters prefer has produced some surprising results and crowned new winners in the age of MAGA.
In Cygnal’s latest survey, the top picks were expected. Joe Rogan’s podcast, the biggest in America, was No. 1, with 33% listening to it. Media giant Newsmax was second, with over 28% of Republicans and conservative independents claiming to check into its online and streaming offerings.
But it was the other 14 choices from pollster and Cygnal President Brent Buchanan that held surprises.
At the end of his April National Voter Trends survey shared with Secrets, Buchanan asked, “Aside from mainstream broadcast or cable television, which of the following alternative media sources have you watched, listened to, or read in the last month?”
Among the surprises were that black conservatives put Infowars on their media menu, ex-Biden voters picked the Daily Wire, and Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk has a remarkably even-keeled audience.
“When we asked GOP and right-leaning Independent voters which conservative alternative media sources (alt-right-news) they consume aside from mainstream broadcast and cable outlets, Joe Rogan led the pack purely as a result of being the most listened to podcast in the country,” Buchanan told Secrets.
“But two of the most fascinating aspects of the data are how right-leaning black voters gravitated toward Infowars and the Free Press while Charlie Kirk’s appeal had no noticeable age or gender differential though first-time voters, expectedly so, were heavy consumers,” he said.
His survey also looked at vote switchers to see where those who voted for former President Joe Biden in 2020 but Trump last year got their information.
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“When we look at voters who supported Biden in 2020 but switched to vote for Trump in 2024, The Daily Wire stands out with 41% overall, but especially well with college-educated males and voters under age 55, saying they get news from the growing outlet. With that group, only Rogan surpassed Daily Wire, albeit by 1%,” said Buchanan.
When asked about the legacy media options that voters turn to, cable TV beat out network TV, 44%-38%.
