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Media Literacy

Media Literacy
q&a
Searching for Truth: Q&A with Jennifer Kavanagh
Jun 26, 2019
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.
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Politics and Government
blog
New Book by Arthur Brooks Tells Americans to Answer Hate with Love
Jul 8, 2019
Arthur Brooks spoke at a RAND event to discuss his new book, Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt. He stressed that we don't have to disagree less but that we have to disagree better.
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The Internet
blog
RAND's Analysis of News in the Digital Age: Three Takeaways
May 13, 2019
How has the rise of digital technology shaped the way that news is presented? RAND researchers conducted an empirical study to find out. Here's what you need to know from their findings.
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Media Literacy
commentary
What Role Should Schools Play in Teaching Pupils to Spot Fake News?
Asha Carpenter
Nov 28, 2018
Schools Week
Since social media is not regulated in the same way as traditional news media, anyone can convey information with little fact-checking. So how do we help children develop critical literacy skills to enable them to interpret the media correctly?
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Civic Education
blog
Conversation at RAND: Truth Decay
Oct 2, 2018
The recent erosion of public trust in facts and institutions is not the first period of Truth Decay in U.S. history. What's different this time is the increasing disagreement about objective facts. Jennifer Kavanagh and William “Pat” Getty discussed the trend and how to stop it.
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Databases and Data Collection, Analysis, and Processing
commentary
Truth Decay, America's Latest Pastime
Michael D. Rich @michaeldrich, Jennifer Kavanagh @jekavanagh
Jul 12, 2018
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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.
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Media Literacy
commentary
In Reckoning with Today's Truth Wars, Look to America's Past
Michael D. Rich @michaeldrich, Jennifer Kavanagh @jekavanagh
Jun 19, 2018
CNN
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.
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Civic Education
commentary
The Diminishing Role of Facts in American Public Life
Michael D. Rich @michaeldrich, Jennifer Kavanagh @jekavanagh
Jan 17, 2018
USA Today
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.
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