POLL: 45% Of Republicans Support Using The Courts To Shut Down Or Fine “Biased” News Organizations

The Hill reports:

Almost half of Republicans say they are in favor of courts shutting down media outlets that publish inaccurate or biased information, according to a new survey. Forty-five percent of Republicans in the Economist–YouGov poll said courts should be able to shut down media outlets, while 20 percent of Republicans are opposed the idea.

Just 18 percent of Democrats said they would favor the notion, while 39 percent of them are opposed to it. A majority of Republicans also said they support fines for media outlets that put out biased or inaccurate news reports.

Fifty-five percent of Republicans said they would favor fining news outlets, compared to just 12 percent who opposed the move. Trump has recently ratcheted up his rhetoric toward news outlets, often invoking the term “fake news” and launching attacks on Twitter and at public appearances.