Putting America's Civic Infrastructure on the Biden-Harris Agenda
Much like our bridges and roads, America's civic infrastructure has been allowed to crumble. This has allowed Truth Decay to set in. The new administration can begin to repair the deep fissures in our society by explicitly and implicitly rehabilitating the nation's civic infrastructure.
Nov 19, 2020 Los Angeles Times
Ensuring the Safety and Integrity of the Vote
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown the U.S. election into disarray coming on top of disruptions to traditional campaigning and the increased burden on election officials. Still, with careful planning, the election can be held with integrity, while keeping the American electorate safe. But it will require everyone to help.
Oct 23, 2020 The Baltimore Sun
Keep Voters Healthy. Keep Elections Secure. Can the U.S. Do Both?
U.S. adversaries have stepped up cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. The United States should expect these foes to take advantage of the logistical challenges of voting in a COVID-19 world to redouble their efforts against elections.
Jun 22, 2020 The Baltimore Sun
The Economic Wallop of COVID-19: Q&A with RAND Experts
As Washington continues to weigh economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, here are insights from RAND experts on how aid money might be best allocated, how this crisis compares to the 2008 recession, what business communities can do right now, and more.
Mar 26, 2020
Truth Decay in the Coronavirus Moment: Q&A with Jennifer Kavanagh
Jennifer Kavanagh, who wrote the RAND book Truth Decay about the diminishing role that facts play in making important public policy decisions, calls the unfolding situation with the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 a worst-case scenario.
Mar 17, 2020
Searching for Truth: Q&A with Jennifer Kavanagh
Senior political scientist Jennifer Kavanagh helps lead RAND's work on Truth Decay, the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life. In this interview, she discusses her latest research on how news presentation has changed over time and across platforms.
Jun 26, 2019
What Keeps Millennials Awake at Night Could Change Over Time
Millennials are less worried than baby boomers about national security topics and more worried about kitchen table issues, such as making ends meet each month and paying off debts. But this may have less to do with the fact that they are millennials and more to do with the fact that millennials are young.
Jul 30, 2018 United Press International
Truth Decay, America's Latest Pastime
Detailed data and complex analysis are the foundation of decisionmaking in baseball and many other professions and occupations. But facts are out of favor in current U.S. political and civil discourse, and the public policymaking that accompanies it.
Jul 12, 2018 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In Reckoning with Today's Truth Wars, Look to America's Past
The declining regard for factual evidence may be a defining characteristic of our current age. Previous eras suggest it is within society's power to restore respect for objective facts. Humankind just needs to put it on the agenda.
Jun 19, 2018 CNN
People—Not the Tech Companies—Will Ultimately Stop Disinformation in Europe
Authorities can continue to seek to punish the tech companies for the circulation of false articles. But this is unlikely to make a difference until more people take the time and acquire the skills to distinguish between fact and fiction.
Apr 9, 2018 E!Sharp
The Diminishing Role of Facts in American Public Life
Without agreement about objective facts and a common understanding of and respect for data and analytical interpretations of those data, it becomes nearly impossible to have the types of meaningful policy debates that form the foundation of democracy.
Jan 17, 2018 USA Today
How RAND Is Responding to Truth Decay: Q&A with Michael Rich and Jennifer Kavanagh
RAND's Michael Rich and Jennifer Kavanagh explain what "Truth Decay" is and discuss how ongoing RAND research could help counter it.
May 5, 2017