TheRighting Unveils Exclusive 2020-2024 Election Year Traffic Comparison

Results Show Steep News Audience Erosion in the Four Years Since Last Election

January Traffic Sags Again at Most Right Wing Websites

February 22, 2024, New  York, NY – TheRighting unveiled its first-ever 2020-to-2024 election year traffic analysis, it was announced today by Howard Polskin, President and Founder.  This new feature, which will be released monthly throughout 2024, examines traffic to 15 right wing news websites from 2020 and contrasts it with their 2024 traffic.  TheRighting will also run a similar comparison to the three mainstream news brands it has followed regularly since 2019: CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

In its analysis of Comscore data, TheRighting found significant audience erosion at every news website except one it monitored in the four-year period from 2020 to 2024.  The three largest news websites had the smallest audience declines: CNN (-20%), The New York Times (-22%), Fox News (-24%).  Almost every right wing news website suffered audience decreases of at least 50%, with three outlets – Breitbart, Townhall and the Washington Free Beacon – each posting drops of 87%.  Only Newsmax, among all the news websites surveyed by TheRighting, generated an audience increase (+37%) from January 2020 to January 2024.

“Going forward throughout this critical year, I expect similar or even sharper monthly losses in election year traffic from 2020 to 2024 for a variety of reasons,” said Howard Polskin. “These include consumer news avoidance and its cousin crisis fatigue, as well as the rise of alternative news sources.

“It’s important to note that 2020 was a banner  year for traffic because it was the most consequential year in American history this century.  Major 2020 events included the pandemic, the civil unrest following the death of George Floyd, and the contentious battle for the presidency between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Unless some unfathomable incident occurs, it’s hard to see how 2024 will come close to producing the same audience levels for most news brands from four years ago.”

January 2024 Traffic Declines for Top Right Wing Websites

Only two prominent right wing news websites posted year-over-year (YOY) traffic increases, according to TheRighting’s exclusive analysis of mobile and desktop traffic based on Comscore data for January 2024. This marks the fifth month in a row of declining traffic for the majority of conservative news websites that TheRighting follows.

In another troubling sign for these outlets, only 18 websites are listed in TheRighting’s monthly report of right wing outlets, instead of the usual 20.  “TheRighting has been publishing a top 20 ranking since 2017,” said Howard Polskin, TheRighting’s President and Founder. “However, for the second month in a row, there weren’t 20 measurable right wing news websites because traffic was too low.”

YOY January 2024 traffic also sagged at the three mainstream news websites that TheRighting tracks on a monthly basis.  The Washington Post registered the smallest drop (-12%), followed by The New  York Times (-13%) and CNN.com (-20).

“The January 2024 traffic declines were especially surprising because of the dramatic news unfolding during the month that I assumed would attract bigger audiences on both sides of the aisle,” said Polskin.  “These included the $83 million defamation penalty against Donald Trump, the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary, and the resignation of Harvard president Claudine Gay.”

Winners and Losers Among Top 18 Right Wing News Websites for January 2024

(by unique visitor percentage increase/decrease from year ago)

Winners

·      Daily Signal (+4%)

·      Newsmax (+2%)

Losers

·      The Gateway Pundit (-75%)

·      Townhall (-70%)

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