English references

This paper analyses General Social Survey (United States) data and provides evidence that the advent of Facebook and other social media platforms has widened the gap in scepticism towards science between low-educated Americans and their more highly educated counterparts. The same trend holds true when considering distrust in medicine, the press and television. Overall, the results suggest that education may serve as a protective factor against the influence of fake news, disinformation and misinformation. Additionally, a heterogeneity analysis shows that the increase in distrust is particularly pronounced among young people. Further analyses reveal that political affiliation plays a role in shaping attitudes towards science and that the likelihood of voting for the Republican Party has increased among low-educated individuals. A comprehensive set of robustness and placebo tests supports the reliability of these findings.

Western leaders have spent the past 20 years trying to guess what Vladimir Putin “really wants”. Very often, it’s enough just to read his words, very carefully. Because usually he means exactly what he says. And in the case of his early morning television address announcing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, his words and hints about his intentions were truly terrifying.

Today, all of humanity is under attack, this time from an overheated planet—and too many newsrooms still are more inclined to cover today’s equivalent of dance competitions. A handful of major newspapers are paying attention. But most news coverage, especially on television, continues to underplay the climate story, regarding it as too complicated, or disheartening, or controversial. Last month, we asked the world’s press to commit to treating climate change as the emergency that scientists say it is; their response was dispiriting.