We learned last week that 1 in 4 Americans know that they’ve shared misinformation or disinformation online. We also know that a lot of disinformation intentionally comes from bad actors, like other governments that want to interfere with our democratic elections.
A hot-off-the-presses survey from YouGov and NewsGuard just reported that one third of Americans believed Russian disinformation when they were shown actual false claims that have been spreading on social media. Less than 1% — regardless of political party — were able to tell that all the claims they were shown were false!
Watch this quick, one minute video from the News Literacy Project about these troubling results and how we can improve our ability to spot this dangerous disinformation and keep it from spreading.
And if you have a little extra time this week, you can check out the News Literacy Project’s free resources on fact-checking, mis- and disinformation, and more. If you’re a teacher, they have a special set of resources and lesson plans just for you!
You wake up every morning and immediately wash your face and brush your teeth with clean water running from the bathroom tap. Then you head out, driving your car or riding the city bus, on (hopefully) well-maintained roads, to get to work or drop the kids off at your...
Last month, we completed our Easy A series on gerrymandering, but we’re returning to the topic one more time with breaking news! On April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court issued their decision in Louisiana v. Callais, a racial gerrymandering case we previously told you...
When we talk about politics, we might immediately think about the President or Congress. They certainly give us a lot to talk about! But many of the decisions that impact our daily lives, like roads, schools, and public safety, are actually made at the local level. So...
Gerrymandering is when during the routine process of redistricting, politicians create voting districts that favor their own party in elections. Politicians shouldn’t pick their own voters! This is unfair to all voters and often leads to the underrepresentation of...
Last week’s Easy A provided an easy explainer on gerrymandering, which is the purposeful drawing of voting districts to unfairly favor a certain group or political party. We learned that while gerrymandering is not necessarily illegal, Section 2 of the Voting Rights...
