News Media and the Politics of Truth

We face a misinformation crisis. Misinformation is at an all-time high and it’s crippling our democracy, interfering with our ability to talk with each other, to enact needed public policies, and to bridge our bitter partisan divide. And there’s no end in sight. The forces propelling misinformation – power, money, fame, and tribalism – are strong and enduring.

Misinformation is asymmetrical. On nearly every issue, it’s concentrated among those who identify with one or the other political party, most often the Republican Party. The result is that party loyalists are living in different worlds. Their views of reality are so at odds that they might as well be inhabiting different planets. The longstanding notion that we are one nation is no longer sustainable