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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.
Report

Media Literacy Education as a Tool for Mitigating 'Truth Decay'

Jul 11, 2019

Can media literacy education help counter the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life? To find out, RAND experts analyzed what we know—and don't know—about the subject.

Explore Civic Education

Report

Report

2019 American Teacher Panel Civic Education Survey: Technical Documentation

As part of the RAND Corporation's Truth Decay initiative, researchers surveyed public-school social studies teachers about approaches to civic education. This report, one in a series of six, provides technical information about the survey.

Jun 29, 2020
Report

Understanding Media Use and Literacy in Schools

Schools can play a key role in fighting Truth Decay—the diminishing role of facts in U.S. public life—by teaching media literacy to students. How much emphasis do teachers and schools put on this subject?

Jun 29, 2020
Tool

Gun Policy Research for High School Students

When RAND's Gun Policy in America initiative released its first set of research tools in 2018, high school teachers reported that their students were keenly interested. This new unit plan, recommended for grades 10 to 12, is designed to help educators and students understand gun policy research.

Jun 11, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Social Returns to Private Choice? Effects of Charter Schools on Behavioral Outcomes, Arrests, and Civic Participation

We add to the research on charter school effects by evaluating the impacts of secondary charter school attendance on 9th grade behavioral outcomes and individuals' propensity to commit crime and participate in elections as young adults in North Carolina.

Jun 5, 2020
Commentary

What Do You Do with a Problem Like COVID-19?

Over the last several decades, Americans' trust in their government and its institutions crumbled. Beyond that, the value of truth and expertise, the common bedrock of sound policymaking, was decaying in American society. COVID-19 might present an opportunity to correct some of these ills.

Apr 10, 2020
Commentary

How to Contain the Disinformation Virus

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.

Apr 9, 2020
Q&A

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
Blog

Coronavirus Outbreak, Drones, the U.S. Power Grid: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the intensifying coronavirus outbreak, cyber threats from drones, the vulnerabilities of the U.S. power grid, and more.

Mar 6, 2020
Blog

Russian Subversion, Truth Decay, Supervised Drug Consumption Sites: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on responding to Russian subversion, how the media can help fight Truth Decay, the first supervised drug consumption site in the United States, artificial intelligence, and more.

Feb 28, 2020
Blog

How the Media Can Help Fight Truth Decay

"Truth Decay" is the diminishing role of facts and analysis in U.S. public life. As part of this phenomenon, Americans are losing faith in once-trusted sources of information, including the news. What could media organizations do to address this?

Feb 25, 2020
Multimedia

How the Media Can Help Fight Truth Decay

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?

Feb 20, 2020
Blog

Most Popular RAND Research of 2019

The search for lasting solutions to difficult policy problems starts with facts. Here are the 10 research projects that rand.org readers engaged with the most in 2019.

Dec 24, 2019
Multimedia

The RAND Institute for Civil Justice: 40 Years

For 40 years, the RAND Institute for Civil Justice has supplied government and private decisionmakers and the public with the results of objective, empirically based, analytic research.

Dec 12, 2019
Tool

What's Being Done to Fight Disinformation Online

With the rise of the internet and social media, false or intentionally misleading information can spread further and faster than ever before. What tools exist to fight disinformation online?

Nov 12, 2019
Tool

Fighting Disinformation Online: A Database of Web Tools

RAND researchers created a database of web tools that aim to fight the spread of disinformation. These include fact-checking tools, bot detectors, media literacy applications, and more.

Nov 12, 2019
Commentary

The RAND Institute for Civil Justice: 40th Anniversary Reflections

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 Truth Decay, the diminishing role of facts and analysis in public life, the ICJ's mission and research have never been more important.

Nov 6, 2019
Blog

RAND's Summer Reading List for Congress

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.

Aug 5, 2019
Blog

The Most Popular RAND Research of 2018

RAND serves as an objective source of facts that help inform the world's most pressing policy debates. When decisions are based on the best evidence, that's when public policy can have a positive impact on people's lives. We're highlighting the 10 research projects that RAND.org readers found most engaging this year.

Dec 21, 2018

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