… “Partisanship can even alter memory, implicit evaluation, and even perceptual judgment,” the political scientists Jay J. Van Bavel and Andrea Pereira wrote in a recent paper. “The human attraction to fake and untrustworthy news” — a danger cited by political scientists far more frequently than orchestrated meddling — “poses […] Read more »
How Much Did Russian Interference Affect The 2016 Election?
One of my least favorite questions is: “Did Russian interference cost Hillary Clinton the 2016 election?” The question is newly relevant because of special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of 13 Russians on Friday on charges that they used a variety of shady techniques to discourage people from voting for Clinton […] Read more »
Trump may owe his 2016 victory to ‘fake news,’ new study suggests
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton concedes the 2016 presidential election. AP Photo/Matt Rourke Richard Gunther, The Ohio State University; Erik C. Nisbet, The Ohio State University, and Paul Beck, The Ohio State University Could “fake news” have helped determine the outcome of the 2016 presidential election? Social media users and intensely […] Read more »
Better poll sampling would have cast more doubt on the potential for Hillary Clinton to win the 2016 election
… In a perfect world, polls sample from the population of voters, who would state their political preference perfectly clearly and then vote accordingly. However, results from small random samples can be quite unreliable due to extremely narrow electoral margins. To calculate the probability of winning the 2016 US presidential […] Read more »
On Political Authenticity (Part 2)
… It’s now easier to see why Clinton had (unfair) difficultly with authenticity. While her opponents maintained singular foci, she was more like the Chinese-Indian-burger joint, equally attentive to a grab bag of (critically important) issues. How many times was it said that she had a plan for every problem […] Read more »
Hillary Clinton Ignited a Feminist Movement. By Losing.
Hillary Clinton, the first woman who had a real shot at the presidency, has finally set off a national awakening among women. The only catch? She did it by losing. In the year since a stoic Mrs. Clinton watched as Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th president, […] Read more »