JACKIE MARQUEZ / OPINION EDITOR

President Joe Biden is trying to undermine Easter — at least that’s what conservative leaders like Donald Trump and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson seem to think. This March 31, Easter Sunday and Transgender Day of Visibility coincided, outraging vocal right-wingers and prompting a slew of misinformation. 

“What the h*** was Biden thinking when he declared Easter Sunday to be Trans Visibility Day?” Trump asked his audience during a rally in Wisconsin. “Such total disrespect to Christians.”  

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson doubled down on this sentiment on his X account. 

“The Biden White House has betrayed the central tenet of Easter — which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Johnson posted. “Banning sacred truth and tradition — while at the same time proclaiming Easter Sunday as ‘Transgender Day’ — is outrageous and abhorrent. The American people are taking note.” 

Ultimately, this backlash around Easter and Trangender Day of Visibility demonstrates how disinformation runs rampant under political polarization. While these claims by prominent Republicans are certainly inflammatory, they’re not completely true. First, President Biden did recognize Transgender Day of Visibility, but he was not the first one to declare the holiday. The holiday was initially introduced by transgender activist Rachel Crandall Crocker on March 31, 2009. Its goal was to recognize trans people and celebrate their lives, as the only other day recognizing trans people centered around remembering those that had lost their lives to transphobic violence.

Second, Biden did not intentionally declare Transgender Day of Visibility to be on Easter Sunday. The holiday has been observed on March 31 for the past 16 years, whereas the date of Easter changes every year. According to Christian tradition, Easter is a movable feast. Instead of being celebrated on a specific date each year, Easter Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon to happen after March 21.  

Third, Biden did not “ban sacred truth and tradition.” Before he even acknowledged Trans Day of Visibility, Biden, who identifies himself as a practicing Catholic, explicitly recognized the biblical teachings around Easter. On the morning of Easter Sunday, Biden released a press statement wishing Christians a happy Easter, remembering “Jesus’ sacrifice.” He then went on to make two Instagram posts recognizing the holiday,  before  making a singular Instagram post and press release to recognize transgender people. 

While these facts may not be widely known, they’re very easy to access. A simple Google search reveals the history of the day, as well as what Biden did to recognize Easter. So, why are politicians making these wrongful claims, and why are some voters believing them? The short answer is political polarization. Political polarization is when party ideologies move away from moderate views and become more radical on either side of the spectrum, ultimately leading to demonizations of their competitors. Unfortunately, as we enter an election year, polarization is only growing worse.

Polarization leads to harmful effects, but the most significant is the growth of in-group bias and the surfacing of filter bubbles. According to Facing History, an educational non-profit organization, “in-group bias” is when people base their opinions on the opinions of a group that they’re a part of (like their political party), rather than on their own, rational evaluation of issues. This kind of bias leads people to think positively about the members of their political party, while simultaneously thinking negatively toward their political opponents. 

This negativity goes hand in hand with the rise of “filter bubbles,” which occur when media users are only exposed to content they agree with. These digital echo chambers are the result of social media algorithms, programs that feed you content that you’ve already expressed interest in in order to maximize a social media company’s profit, and are further exacerbated by the fact that social media users are unlikely to follow people with differing views than them. 

 Both of these consequences aid the spread of disinformation, and both of them played a role in this conversation around Easter and Trans Day of Visibility. As users strayed away from opposing viewpoints because of filter bubbles, their perceptions of political “others” became skewed and dictated by the commentary of prominent leaders. For Christian Republicans who think negatively about Democrats and only interact with conservative content, it’s hard to imagine that a “liberal” president shares the same religious traditions as you, if you listen to the internet clamor. When you read things from your side’s political leaders that paint your political “other” in a negative light, you jump on it as a way to confirm your pre-existing biases (in-group bias). In this context, disinformation thrives.

What do we do about this? I’m not saying that the two political parties should come together and sing Kumbaya. There are real and valid reasons that people have differing political perspectives. Instead, we must recognize that our politically polarized media landscape has become radically divisive. 

As we enter into an election year, we have to improve our media literacy practices. When you hear a claim that riles you up because it “just can’t be true,” do a little bit of research. That doesn’t just mean running to a news source that always agrees with you. Go to a reputable, less biased news source that intensely vets its stories like The Associated Press, The New York Times or The Washington Post. Read an academic article or watch a YouTube video to get the perspectives of several experts. 

Then, think about who you’re getting your information from. What stake do they have in the issue? What was their goal for producing the content you’re interacting with? While our media is divisive, it has never been easier to find the answers to those questions if you look. As such, we must think critically about the information we receive to avoid falling into the division that politicians exploit for power, and that Big Tech exploits for profit. 

Biden’s Instagram posts about both Easter (left) and Transgender Day of Visibility (right), on the POTUS instagram account.  

Photo courtesy of @potus/Instagram