In a contentious political landscape, Americans increasingly believe the news media generally favors one political party over the other. Sixty-two percent of U.S. adults say the media has a favorite, up from about 50% in past years. Just 27% now say the media favors neither major party. CONT. Art Swift, […] Read more »
President Trump Less Trusted Than News Media
Fully 8-in-10 Americans agree that Donald Trump has had a worse relationship with the media than his predecessors, with most saying this is hurting both his image and the media’s image as well. When the Monmouth University Poll pitted the president against three major television news outlets, Trump was found […] Read more »
Amid Leaks, Recalling an Epic Battle Over Press Freedom in Nixon Era
As details trickled into print and pixels about Russian tampering with the election that put him in the White House, a snappish President Trump lashed out in his favored medium. On Feb. 15, he wrote on Twitter: “The real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by […] Read more »
How fake news finds your social media feeds
In this last election, the nation was assaulted by imposters masquerading as reporters. They poisoned the conversation with lies on the left and on the right. Many did it to influence the outcome, others, just to make a buck. The president uses the term “fake news” to discredit responsible reporting […] Read more »
The great divide: Politics in the Age of Trump
Increasingly, we Americans occupy alternate universes. President Trump: “To be honest, I inherited a mess! It’s a mess!” Stephen Colbert: “No, you inherited a fortune; we elected a mess.” There is very little common ground left … only battling perceptions of reality. Neither side seems to have much use for […] Read more »
Why Objectively False Things Continue to Be Believed
… Partisan polarization is now so extreme in the United States that it affects the way that people consume and understand information — the facts they believe, and what events they think are important. … Mr. Trump, perhaps unconsciously, has grasped a core truth of modern politics: that voters tend to […] Read more »