… A series of recent research papers explore reasons for the appeal of the demagogue; the role of anger in Trump’s ascendance; and the political dark triad of psychopathy, Machiavellianism and narcissism. In “The Authentic Appeal of the Lying Demagogue: Proclaiming the Deeper Truth about Political Illegitimacy,” published in 2018 […] Read more »
The Relation between Media Consumption and Misinformation at the Outset of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic
A US national probability-based survey during the early days of the SARS-CoV-2 spread in the US showed that, above and beyond respondents’ political party, mainstream broadcast media use (e.g., NBC News) correlated with accurate information about the disease’s lethality, and mainstream print media use (e.g., the New York Times) correlated […] Read more »
In a pandemic, political polarization could kill people
As the coronavirus pandemic circles the world, public health officials and other authorities have implored people to avoid crowds and keep their distance from one another. But viral stories of parties on Bourbon Street, pub crawls at Irish bars and packed beaches in Florida make clear these messages often fall […] Read more »
Review: ‘After Truth,’ the Deluge
It is a fitting irony that the term “fake news” has become itself fraudulent, appropriated, by Donald Trump and his imitators, to dismiss legitimate reporting that they deem damaging, disrespectful or insufficiently flattering. But before there was this fake news, there was real fake news, an ecosystem of rumors, conspiracy […] Read more »
The Conspiracy Theory Handbook
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 »
Same Goal, Different Playbook: Why Russia Would Support Trump and Sanders
At first glance, it may seem contradictory that the nation’s intelligence agencies were telling Congress that President Vladimir V. Putin is presumably striving to get President Trump re-elected, while also warning Senator Bernie Sanders of evidence that he is the Russian president’s favorite Democrat. But to the intelligence analysts and […] Read more »