September 2018

Sponsor 

New America

Date 
Thu, 10/04/2018 - 17:00 to 19:00

In an age of livestreamed terrorist attacks and viral misinformation, a new pocket-sized battleground has emerged.

Through the weaponization of social media, the internet has transformed war and politics. Terrorists livestream their attacks, “Twitter wars” produce real world casualties, and viral misinformation alters not just the result of battles, but the very fate of nations.



Biased News Media or Biased Readers? An Experiment on Trust

Gallup survey data indicates that Americans are increasingly distrustful about potentially biased news. But they should also worry about the partiality of their own judgment as well as how their news consumption habits may affect it. The bias consumers bring with them distorts their rating of news content, new research shows, and those who are most distrustful of the news media tend to be the most biased readers. The evidence also suggests that people are at greater risk of bias if they habitually turn to more extreme sources — such as those least often preferred by political moderates.