MSU research suggests darker side of being politically confident

New research from Michigan State University suggests that those who feel self-confident about their political abilities are more likely to discriminate against those who hold opposing political views. And those who are more skeptical of their political abilities are more likely to treat other people fairly when they disagree politically.

On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog – or a fake Russian Twitter account

This study investigates how successful Russian Internet Research Agency Twitter accounts built the followings that were central to their disinformation campaigns around the 2016 US presidential election. Many legacy media outlets played an unwitting role in the growth, according to the findings.

If COVID-19 can’t foster political unity, what can?

Bitter fighting continues in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, even as President-elect Joe Biden urged unity in his victory speech Saturday night.  Michael Macy, professor of sociology and information science at Cornell University and director of the Social…

Third Party Candidates and the 2020 Election: UNLV Expert Available

For months, two names — presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden — have consistently dominated news headlines and social media feeds in the leadup to Election Day 2020. Some, however, might be left wondering, especially following the chaotic presidential debate just last week, if Trump and Biden are the only options out there.

Presidential Debates in a Highly Polarized America: UNLV Expert Available

The COVID-19 pandemic. Race relations. The Supreme Court. The economy. When President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden meet for the first of three presidential debates on Tuesday night, millions of viewers are expected to tune in. But will America really be listening? Given the country’s all-time high partisanship and the extremely tiny pool of voters who have yet to make up their minds five weeks out from the 2020 general election, analysts are putting in their bets on the influence of televised debates and the chances of actually swaying voters.

New Seminar Series Aims To Expose, Explain Threats to U.S. Democracy

A group of political science scholars is launching a webinar series on Friday to highlight escalating threats to democracy that have been percolating for decades and boiling over ever since Donald Trump’s election.