One year after thousands of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to protest and disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, the results of a new national University of Massachusetts Amherst Poll released today show 71% of Republicans […] Read more »
Biden’s struggles shouldn’t eclipse GOP’s year of dangerous falsehoods
America’s running political conversation defaults to the sitting president. Today, Joe Biden’s legislative struggles, pandemic management and weak approval rating drown out most everything else. But in 2021, the performance of his partisan adversaries mattered at least as much to the nation’s future. And in Washington and state capitals alike, […] Read more »
How the War on Christmas Became America’s Latest Forever War
… You’d be forgiven for thinking the War on Christmas ended a long time ago, if it ever existed. Dec. 25 is still a holiday. Christmas trees, eggnog and lights are ubiquitous, seemingly more so every year. And if there was any doubt, Donald Trump — who proclaimed himself the […] Read more »
Millions Embrace Covid-19 Misinformation, Which Is Linked to Hesitancy on Vaccination and Boosters
Twenty-one months into the global pandemic, millions of Americans continue to believe misinformation about vaccination and Covid-19, and these beliefs are associated with hesitancy to get themselves and their children vaccinated – or, if they are vaccinated, to get a booster for added protection against the omicron and delta variants. […] Read more »
A new survey provides little comfort about democracy’s future
A new survey from Bright Line Watch, an organization that monitors democratic practices, provides some interesting insights but little solace about Republicans’ commitment to democracy. They might say they support democratic principles (e.g., “All adult citizens enjoy the same legal and political rights”), but they fail to embrace the most […] Read more »
How conspiracy theories in the US became more personal, more cruel and more mainstream after the Sandy Hook shootings
The legacy of the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012 continues to reverberate nine years later, including in how conspiracy theories have changed since the tragedy. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AFP via Getty Images Amanda J. Crawford, University of Connecticut Conspiracy theories are powerful forces in the U.S. They have damaged public health […] Read more »