Which statement about the knowledge gap hypothesis is incorrect?

• A. As mass media expands, those with higher SES gain knowledge faster
• B. It predicts increasing inequality in political knowledge
• C. Political knowledge becomes more equal across groups with media growth
• D. It relates media exposure to disparities in knowledge

Answer: (C)

The central idea is that as mass media expands, people with higher socioeconomic status have more resources—education, time, and skills—to seek out and understand information. Because they access and process news more efficiently, their political knowledge grows faster than that of lower-SES groups, creating larger gaps over time. So, saying that political knowledge becomes more equal across groups with media growth contradicts this pattern; it asserts equality that the theory does not predict. The other statements fit: higher-SES individuals gain knowledge faster as media grows; the theory indeed predicts increasing inequality in political knowledge; and it ties media exposure to disparities in knowledge by highlighting differential access and processing.