Conspiracy theories are not harmless fun—they can do much harm to society because they undermine trust in the institutions that matter the most in an emergency, such as public health agencies and local governments. In an emergency—like the current COVID pandemic—what matters is the truth. To combat an acute crisis […] Read more »
Why Trump Persists
The failure of the American electorate to rise up in opposition to President Trump — whose outrages are well-documented — suggests that voters are less tolerant, less empathetic and less insistent on integrity than many believe. The election of Trump and his first three years in office have revealed a […] Read more »
Does Knowing Whom Others Might Vote For Change Whom You’ll Vote For?
… Polls probably do influence how people vote in some situations, experts say. But it’s not anything like a universal, definitive effect. What’s more, some of them told me they aren’t sure that would be a bad thing. The question isn’t just whether polls determine outcomes, it’s also a debate […] Read more »
Aversion to loss, fueled by polarization, explains why a disgraced Trump is better for Republicans
After two weeks of public impeachment hearings where damning evidence was presented by numerous credible witnesses, Republicans remain steadfast in their support for their president. Trump himself has famously said that he could shoot a man in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose any of his political support. […] Read more »
Whistleblower Explains How Cambridge Analytica Helped Fuel U.S. ‘Insurgency’
When Christopher Wylie first began working for the British behavioral research company SCL Group, the company used data drawn from a number of sources as a means of potentially altering outcomes for their, sometimes military, clients. But over time, Wylie’s mission — and that of the company — expanded. Conservative […] Read more »
Do the Poor Suffer From Elite Ideas?
… Starting a half-century ago or so ago, conservatives began to indict liberals not just for their social policies but for their ideas about things like happiness and freedom. James Q. Wilson, for example, attributed the 1960s increase in crime in part to the ideology of self-expression and “do your […] Read more »