Our weekly roundup of news found at the intersection of media, politics, policy and technology, from the Shorenstein Center and from around the web. Sign up to receive Media and Politics Must Reads in your inbox each week. Also connect with us on Twitter and Facebook for more updates.
News from Faculty & Fellows
How the Alt-Right Uses Social Science to Make Racism Respectable. Khalil G. Muhammad, Professor of History, Race, and Public Policy, writes that “By focusing their opprobrium on the Nazi next door, white liberals are missing the very real threat posed by a growing white nationalism.”
Jelani Cobb: ‘It’s impossible to avoid the conclusion that Donald Trump is racist.’ Jelani Cobb, A.M. Rosenthal Writer-in-Residence, discusses President Trump’s recent inflammatory remarks with Judy Woodruff, fall 2005 fellow.
Teenagers are our best hope in fighting fake news. Claire Wardle, research fellow, discusses digital literacy. “If you design these courses correctly, the kids will be able to confront crazy Uncle Bob that, no, stop, that’s a conspiracy YouTube video you’re referencing.”
Misinformation Crisis. Claes de Vreese, fall 2017 fellow, discusses global populism and the post-truth present in an interview on The Open Mind.
A trade war with China would backfire on Trump — and America. Zachary Karabell, fall 1997 fellow, writes that “the two powers are more dependent on each other than Trump wants to admit.”
Views on Facebook and News
- If Facebook stops putting news in front of readers, will readers bother to go looking for it? From Nieman Lab.
- Facebook Is Deprioritizing Our Stories. Good. From Vice.
- Facebook is done with quality journalism. Deal with it. From Monday Note.
- Facebook’s Adam Mosseri on Why You’ll See Less Video, More from Friends, from
- How Mark Zuckerberg’s Media Divorce Could Backfire, from Vanity Fair.
Trust in News
- Media Seen as Key to Democracy But Not Supporting It Well, from Gallup.
- 10 Reasons Why American Trust in Media Is at an All-Time Low, from Knight Foundation.
- Americans say greater access to news sources is actually making it harder to stay informed, from Nieman Lab.
- Trust in news media takes a hit during Trump presidency, from Associated Press.
Tech and Free Speech
It’s the Democracy-Poisoning Golden Age of Free Speech, from Wired.
News Business
- Here’s How We Can Reinvent Local News, from Mediashift.
- When membership might not be your publication’s best path forward, from The Membership Puzzle Project.
Conservative Media
Who Gets The Most Traffic Among Conservative Websites? From Mediashift.
