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Media Literacy

Social Media Analysis
commentary
Platforms Should Use Algorithms to Help Users Help Themselves
Christopher Paul, Hilary Reininger
Jul 20, 2021
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Social media users generate massive volumes of content, which then spreads at extraordinary speeds. Yet platforms generally rely on a slow process of human moderation to remove prohibited content. What if moderation could happen before the content is even posted?
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Vaccination
blog
Vaccine Hesitancy, Working from Home, Arctic Diplomacy: RAND Weekly Recap
May 21, 2021
This weekly recap focuses on vaccine hesitancy as a symptom of ‘Truth Decay,’ how to make remote work beneficial for all, U.S. Arctic diplomacy, and more.
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Health Literacy
commentary
How Truth Decay Is Fueling Vaccine Hesitancy
Jennifer Kavanagh @jekavanagh
May 14, 2021
The RAND Blog
A recent poll found that more than a quarter of Americans will not try to get vaccinated. The spread of misinformation and disinformation, which is rampant over social media, is one of the factors fueling vaccine hesitancy. And in turn, it's threatening our ability to end the pandemic for good.
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Civic Education
commentary
Giving Teachers the Tools They Need to Provide 21st-Century Civics Education
Julia H. Kaufman @juliahkaufman
Feb 23, 2021
The RAND Blog
The Capitol attack has rightfully led to many calls for teachers to address civic education in a much more robust way in their classrooms. However, a national survey of social studies teachers suggests that teachers lack the critical training and incentives to do so.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
blog
Keeping COVID-19 Vaccines Moving, the Capitol Attack, Media Literacy: RAND Weekly Recap
Jan 22, 2021
This weekly recap focuses on keeping COVID-19 vaccines moving to save more lives; why we need a national commission to investigate the U.S. Capitol attack; media literacy as a tool to counter "Truth Decay," and more.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
blog
RAND Commentary Highlights from 2020
Dec 18, 2020
The roughly 400 op-eds and blog posts published by RAND researchers during the year reflected an enormous variety of expertise and perspectives, from remote education to election cybersecurity to the economic harms of racial disparities. Here are 10 highlights that landed in high-profile news outlets.
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Civic Education
article
Want to Rebuild Public Trust? Focus on Civic Education
Dec 7, 2020
Truth Decay—the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life—has led to political paralysis, the erosion of civil discourse, and widespread uncertainty. Investing in civic education and media literacy could be the antidote. But what exactly can be done to spur a civics revival in U.S. schools?
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Politics and Government
blog
Restoring Public Trust, COVID-19 and Thanksgiving, Vaccinating Teachers: RAND Weekly Recap
Nov 25, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on how the Biden-Harris administration can restore public trust, the risk of Thanksgiving becoming a super-spreader event, why teachers should be among the first to get a COVID19 vaccination, and more.
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Politics and Government
commentary
Putting America's Civic Infrastructure on the Biden-Harris Agenda
Michael D. Rich @michaeldrich, Jennifer Kavanagh @jekavanagh
Nov 19, 2020
Los Angeles Times
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.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
commentary
The Meta-Lessons from COVID-19
Luke J. Matthews
Nov 2, 2020
The Pacific Council Magazine
COVID-19 has sculpted into high relief already recognized societal problems, which could be addressed once COVID-19 passes. Failure to do so could be a failure to learn the meta-lessons from COVID-19.
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Civic Education
essay
The Importance of Teaching Civic Responsibility in America
Oct 29, 2020
A survey of civics and social studies teachers asked what they teach, how they teach it, and what they think students need to know. Most said their students absolutely need to learn to be tolerant of different people and groups. And they want their students to see themselves as global citizens.
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Civic Education
commentary
Think Tanks in the Era of Truth Decay
Michael D. Rich @michaeldrich
Oct 22, 2020
Truth Decay is the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life, and it cuts much deeper than any political party or demographic. It's why nonpartisan think tanks like RAND are as important now as they have ever been.
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Police-Community Relations
commentary
Police Officers: This Article Will Make You Better at Combatting Misinformation
John S. Hollywood, Bob Harrison, Miriam Matthews, Richard H. Donohue
Aug 24, 2020
Police1
By deliberately addressing misinformation, police officers can promote safe and healthy behaviors among those in their communities. The actions they take to combat misinformation and improve protections in their communities are a critical part of the collective campaign to end the pandemic and help people return to their normal lives.
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Information Operations
commentary
How You Can Fight Russia's Plans to Troll Americans During Campaign 2020
Marek N. Posard @mnposard, James V. Marrone, Todd C. Helmus @Helmus
Jul 14, 2020
Los Angeles Times
The goal of Russian interference is to trigger emotional reactions and drive people to ideological extremes, making it nearly impossible to build a consensus. But Americans are less likely to have their emotions manipulated if they are aware that manipulation is the goal.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
blog
Preparing for a COVID Surge, Reducing Police Violence, Media Literacy in Schools: RAND Weekly Recap
Jul 2, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on helping hospitals prepare for a surge in COVID-19 infections, an approach to reducing police violence, teachers' concerns about students' media literacy, and more.
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Media Literacy
commentary
A Machine Learning Approach Could Help Counter Disinformation
Kate Cox, Linda Slapakova, William Marcellino
Jun 25, 2020
C4ISRNET
Disinformation has become a central feature of the COVID-19 crisis. This type of malign information and high-tech “deepfake” imagery poses a risk to democratic societies worldwide by increasing public mistrust in governments and public authorities. New research highlights new ways to detect and dispel disinformation online.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
blog
A Message from Our President and CEO, America's Wealth Gap, Disinformation: RAND Weekly Recap
Jun 5, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on doing more to address systemic inequalities and structural racism, paying the bills during COVID-19, America's growing wealth gap, and more.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
blog
What Happens When States Reopen, Truth Decay, Telemedicine: RAND Weekly Recap
May 22, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on the health and economic consequences of states reopening, the dangers of Truth Decay during the coronavirus crisis, helping refugees, and more.
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Information Operations
commentary
Exposing Russian Information Operations Does Not Violate the First Amendment
Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins
May 11, 2020
The Hill
Russia's hostile information operations are continuous and extend to a broad range of domestic issues. First Amendment concerns are important, but they do not protect hostile information campaigns by foreign actors, nor are they a legal excuse for inaction by the United States.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
blog
A Proposed COVID-19 Cure, Economic Decline, North Korea: RAND Weekly Recap
May 1, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on the unintended consequences of a proposed COVID-19 treatment, another wave of economic destruction, North Korea after Kim Jong Un, and more.
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Media Literacy
article
What Americans Think of the News—and What That Means for Democracy
Apr 28, 2020
RAND researchers asked a nationally representative sample of adults about their news-consumption habits. The answers reveal clues about what it might take to address Truth Decay, the decline of facts in U.S. public life.
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Media Literacy
commentary
How to Contain the Disinformation Virus
Axelle Devaux @AxelleDevaux
Apr 9, 2020
Encompass
Like COVID-19, disinformation spreads only if we help it spread. While we have all been asked to stay at home as responsible citizens to contain the virus, we should also feel responsible for making it harder for disinformation to spread.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
blog
Experts Discuss COVID-19: RAND Weekly Recap
Mar 20, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on COVID-19, how the United States is responding to the coronavirus outbreak, the spread of misinformation during this time, and more.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
q&a
Truth Decay in the Coronavirus Moment: Q&A with Jennifer Kavanagh
Mar 17, 2020
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.
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Media Literacy
essay
American News Habits and the Challenge of Truth Decay
Mar 4, 2020
RAND researchers asked people where they get their news, how reliable they think it is, and whether they seek out viewpoints that are different from their own. The results provide some new clues to help diagnose and treat Truth Decay.
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Media Literacy
blog
Panel: How the Media Can Help Fight Truth Decay
Feb 25, 2020
Truth Decay is the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life. As part of this phenomenon, Americans are losing faith in once-trusted sources of information, including the news. How might media organizations address this?
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Media Literacy
commentary
Our Actions Determine What We Read and See Online. Algorithms Are Only a Part of That Process
Tor Richardson-Golinski, Amelia Harshfield, Advait Deshpande
Feb 7, 2020
Open Access Government
As social media has increasingly become the main outlet for people to acquire news and opinion, there are concerns about the effect of algorithm-driven services on the spread of misleading information. But the issue doesn't merely lie with how social platforms use algorithms to deliver content.
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Information Operations
commentary
Artificial Intelligence and the Manufacturing of Reality
Christopher Paul, Marek N. Posard @mnposard
Jan 20, 2020
Strategy Bridge
Humans carry flaws in deciding what is or is not real. The internet and other technologies have made it easier to weaponize and exploit these flaws. And artificial intelligence will likely be used to exploit these weaknesses at an unprecedented scale, speed, and level of effectiveness.
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Media Literacy
blog
How Americans Get the News, Iran, Caregiving: RAND Weekly Recap
Dec 13, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on how Americans consume the news, U.S.–Iranian relations, how federal disability payments help caregivers, and more.
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Civic Education
commentary
The RAND Institute for Civil Justice: 40th Anniversary Reflections
Michael D. Rich @michaeldrich
Nov 6, 2019
The RAND Blog
For 40 years, the RAND Institute for Civil Justice (ICJ) has supplied government and private decisionmakers and the public with the results of objective, empirically based, analytic research. In this era of the diminishing role of facts and analysis in public life, or Truth Decay, the mission and research of the ICJ have never been more important.
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United States
blog
RAND's Summer Reading List for Congress
Aug 5, 2019
For busy staff, August's respite from back-to-back meetings, hearing preparation, and late votes is hard-earned. The summer recess also provides an opportunity to get ahead of issues that will resurface in the fall. To that end, we have compiled recent RAND research on topics likely to top the congressional agenda come September.
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Summer Learning
blog
Truth Decay, Principals, Augmented Reality: RAND Weekly Recap
Jul 12, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on media literacy education as a way to fight Truth Decay, turning screen time into outdoor time, the importance of school principals, and more.
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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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International Diplomacy
blog
DMZ Meeting, Students with Disabilities, Iran: RAND Weekly Recap
Jul 5, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on Trump's meeting with Kim Jong Un, supporting students with disabilities, the flawed logic of a proportional response in Iran, and more.
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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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The Internet
blog
Journalism, U.S.–Iranian Tensions, School Reform: RAND Weekly Recap
May 17, 2019
This weekly recap focuses on how the news has changed in the digital age, rising U.S.–Iranian tensions, how educators feel about school improvement plans, and more.
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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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Data Science
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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