One of the ironies of writing about attitudes toward the media in The Washington Post is you are almost necessarily creating a paradox for some readers. If I say new data from the national General Social Survey released this week indicates more than two-thirds of Republicans say they have “hardly […] Read more »
Real Solutions for Fake News? Reducing Belief in False Stories on Social Media
Social media has increasingly enabled “fake news” to circulate widely, most notably during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Although it likely did not change the outcome of the election, false news threatens the democratic goal of a well-informed electorate. To combat the harmful effects of this misinformation, Facebook began adding […] Read more »
Poll Hub: The Not So Daily Briefing
The White House Correspondents’ Association is probably best known for its annual black tie scholarship dinner. However, the organization’s mission is to defend a free press and to ensure journalists have the resources required to effectively cover the White House. In this week’s episode of Poll Hub, Olivier Knox, President […] Read more »
Fox News’ audience may not be what you think, even if the programming often is
The decision by the Democratic National Committee to forgo a presidential primary debate on Fox News had expected reactions from many corners. Democrats, frustrated by the network’s coverage and the New Yorker’s recent look at its internal machinations, seemed largely pleased. Fox News, on the other hand, didn’t. On Tuesday […] Read more »
The problem with personality-based campaign coverage
Frank Bruni wrote a flattering profile of one of the newest official members of the Democratic presidential field—former Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper—last week in the New York Times. The article portrayed Hickenlooper in pretty glowing personal terms, noting his sunny optimism and affability, suggesting that maybe this is the […] Read more »
Why do Republicans still back Trump? The answer is simple: Attitude and gratitude
Why do Republicans stick with Donald Trump? It’s a question I’m asked again and again by Democrats, “Never Trumpers,” and journalists. But the answer is simple. Attitude and gratitude. For years, Republican voters wanted someone — anyone — to come along and do two things: stick it to the Clintons […] Read more »