New Zealand has more laws about respecting the flag than about protecting parliament and its grounds. The 23-day occupation in Wellington showed how much needs to change.
Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines affecting fertility have no realistic basis.
(AP Photo/John Locher)
Some of the most persistent myths about COVID-19 vaccination have been false rumours that it can affect fertility in men or women. There has never been any evidence to support this misinformation.
Social media has allowed fake news about the Ukraine invasion to proliferate.
(Shutterstock)
Empowering current and future generations to detect and dismiss false and misleading information will be pivotal in developing a democracy resilient to the threat of online misinformation.
Traditional media, particularly print, are in decline as audiences move online.
Patrick Meinhardt / AFP via Getty Images
Today’s journalism students are less likely to find full-time jobs as professional journalists. The craft has become ‘post-industrial’, entrepreneurial and atypical.
Damaged radar arrays and other equipment is seen at a Ukrainian military facility outside Mariupol, Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022.
AP Photo/Sergei Grits
As war begins between Ukraine and Russia, a range of stories provides context to help readers understand the conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s popularity is on the rise again, but conflict with Ukraine may eventually change that.
Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images
Approximately 69% of Russians approve of President Vladimir Putin. But a costly war is likely to chip away at his popularity, history and data tell us.
A person holds a copy of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms during the so-called freedom convoy protest on Parliament Hill.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
The Canadian Constitution compels a proportionate weighing of all Charter rights against the threat of COVID-19, meaning that individual freedom is not absolute.
Ullrich Ecker, The University of Western Australia and Toby Prike, The University of Western Australia
Claims Prime Minister Scott Morrison is a liar have been piling up. Cognitive psychologists who study misinformation look at how voters react when politicians lie.
Joe Rogan’s ability to attract young male listeners is particularly powerful in today’s fractured media environment.
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Image
By sidestepping partisan pigeonholing and appealing to the anti-establishment impulses of young men, Rogan has brought together an audience that advertisers have long coveted.
Pro-Trump protesters gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021.
Brent Stirton/Getty Images
The Republican Party has a decadeslong relationship with using distrust to incite its base and draw in more supporters – the Jan. 6 Capitol attacks just offer the latest example of this tactic.
Is this a paid ad or a news story? Can you tell?
Screenshot from washingtonpost.com
When news outlets also publish so-called ‘native advertising,’ their journalistic reputations suffer – and their news coverage shies away from the companies that paid for the ads.
Tech giants such as Spotify like to claim they are platforms, not publishers, and aren’t editorially responsible for the content they host. But with COVID threatening lives, they have to do better.
Fact-checking risks oversimplifying and distorting Americans’ political conflicts, while not actually helping people find ways to work together productively.
It can be difficult to distinguish between the calls of sincere scientists for more research to reach greater certainty, and the politically motivated criticisms of science skeptics.
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Skeptics may make demands for absolute certainty to undermine science and delay action. Critiques may not be in the interest of advancing science and public health, but by someone with an agenda.
A cutout display at a protest highlighted the connection between social media and the real-world effects of misinformation.
Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images
Misinformation will continue to strain society in 2022 as the lines between misinformation and political speech blur, cynicism grows and the lack of regulation allows misinformation to flourish.
Meta felt the heat in 2021 as whistleblower revelations, congressional ire and demands for data knocked the company back on its heels. Here’s a look at research into the problems Meta poses for society.