USC researchers may have found the biggest influencer in the spread of fake news: social platforms’ structure of rewarding users for habitually sharing information. The team’s findings, published Tuesday by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, upend popular misconceptions that misinformation spreads because users lack the critical thinking skills necessary for discerning truth from falsehood or...
There is now supportive evidence that child-access-prevention laws reduce firearm homicides and self-injuries among youth, and that shall-issue concealed-carry laws and stand-your-ground laws increase levels of firearm violence, according to a new RAND Corporation report. The findings are part of a new report updating RAND’s Science of Gun Policy research synthesis, which reviewed the existing scientific literature...
In an age of high political polarization in the United States, the popular narrative often focuses on an “us versus them” battle between the two major political parties, each accusing the other of intolerance. But new research shows that political affiliation and its relationship to political tolerance is more nuanced. Social scientists Christoper Garneau and Philip Schwadel...
The number of U.S. adult handgun owners carrying a loaded handgun on their person doubled from 2015 to 2019, according to new research led by the University of Washington (UW). Data come from the 2019 National Firearms Survey (NFS), an online survey of U.S. adults living in households with firearms, including nearly 2,400 handgun owners....
Donald Trump announced his 2024 run for the presidency on Nov. 15. In his address he railed against what he perceived as the “persecution” of himself and his family, but made scant mention of his legal woes. Confirmation of Trump’s White House bid comes at a curious time – a week after a lackluster Republican...
Tens of thousands of people packed the Mexican capital’s main boulevard Sunday to protest President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s proposal to overhaul the country’s electoral authority in the largest demonstration against one of the president’s efforts during his nearly four years in office. The massive turnout was a strong rebuke of the president’s assertion that...
When groups of people need to reach a decision, they will often take a straw poll to test opinions before the official vote. New research from the University of Washington shows that one specific voting method proved more effective than others in identifying the best choice. In a study published September 28 in Academy of Management...
Transmigration programs are known to have relocated millions of people from the centers of domestic economies to the national geographical peripheries to support a more equitable resource distribution. The practice is salient to the nation-building process in many developing countries, most notably in Indonesia, dating back to the 1905 Dutch settlement programs pre-independence. The transmigration...
The U.K. government is in tatters after Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned on Oct. 20, 2022 – the second leader to be forced out in mere months. It follows an economic mess largely of her own making that resulted in U-turns, a high-profile firing, curious absences and plummeting support. The resignation means that Truss will...
More than 150 years after slaves were freed in the U.S., voters in five states will soon decide whether to close loopholes that led to the proliferation of a different form of slavery — forced labor by people convicted of certain crimes. None of the proposals would force immediate changes inside the states’ prisons, though...
