Last Wednesday, Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States amid unprecedented circumstances. The theme of Joe Biden’s inaugural address was unity. However, I struggle to imagine a world in which President Biden can heal the wounds that divide us.

Maybe I am a cynic, but it seems the right’s fervor has surpassed the threshold at which centrist bargaining could have any significant impact. It is clear that the current conservative media sphere will prevent any unity from occurring because the truth has become subjective to them, and their minds are rarely changed.

This trend of truth rejection has been prevalent since the 2016 presidential election when then-candidate Donald Trump began his incessant use of the phrase “fake news.” Throughout his presidency, Trump used this term as a shield against reasoned criticism and utilized press conferences and tweets to direct Americans towards news outlets that portrayed him in a favorable light. These were most often One America News (O.A.N), Newsmax, and smaller publications such as TheBlaze and Breitbart.

These news sources are comparable to Tucker Carlson on amphetamines, and that is by design. It is important to realize this media evolution is just the Fox formula turned up to 11.

You have one or two no-nonsense reporters who present slightly biased but accurate information to lend the network credibility such as Chris Wallace or Brett Baier. This is then followed by commentators such as Tucker Carlson or Hannity who spin a web of false narratives.

Chris Wallace is not immediately hostile to Biden and even praises his message of unity— an example of his willingness to see beyond partisan politics. On the other hand, Tucker Carlson attempts to persuade his audience that this new unity will not include them, and their values are in imminent danger. This is a perfect illustration of the Fox formula in action.

What makes O.A.N. and Newsmax so unique is they don’t have to walk a tightrope with the truth as Fox does. Their credibility is derived directly from the mouth of the demagogue Donald J. Trump.

As a result, the narratives become bolder, less evidenced, and more conspiracy-like. When one is proven false, another simply takes its place. In response to criticism, either an excuse is provided which blames the other side (the radical fake news leftists), or the falsity of their claims is simply not acknowledged.

The juxtaposition of these two stories provides an example of how consumers of conservative media get caught in an echo-chamber. Breitbart never amended the error in their reporting. So, to a consumer who only reads Breitbart or other sources like it, that misinformation remains true.

This new form of “news” now dominates conservative media and is causing irreparable damage. It is a vicious cycle of false narratives that will make the unity Biden spoke of impossible.

Unity cannot occur while media outlets espouse unevidenced conspiracies to an audience that only consumes belief affirming information.

The only way to combat this problem is through education. Schools need to teach children to vet sources and be curious about the intent of the messages they are hearing.

This battle for truth will play out over generations, not years, and the seeds of curiosity must be planted now. I sincerely hope that despite his flaws, Joe Biden can succeed in his goal of unification. However, because of a political group that consistently denies demonstrably true facts, I find it unlikely.

Columns reflect the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board, The Daily Iowan, or other organizations in which the author may be involved.