"The past several years have seen a massive, sometimes malicious, assault on our sense of shared reality. The combination of social media and conspiracy theories has increased the reach and velocity of destructive lies. As a result, both the physical and political health of our country have been placed at risk.On public health, the dissemination of misinformation about COVID-19 and the safety of vaccines has been responsible for thousands of avoidable deaths. Public benefit from the miraculous development of vaccines was partially squandered. Some politicians even echoed fraudulent information for political benefit – riding a wave of falsehoods with casualties when it crashes to the shore.On America’s civic health, the tribalization of information is a serious threat to democracy. Many Americans live in ideological bubbles where their main sources of information gain profit by feeding fear and anger. In some cases, it has encouraged the self-radicalization that led to the Jan. 6 insurrection and other violence. "
Continue reading the article online
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/12/09/threat-democracy-misinformation-covid-age/6430888001/?s=03The research report that drove the article can be found here ->
Direct link to report -> https://www.publicagenda.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Putting-Partisan-Animosity-in-Perspective-REPORT-Final-2.pdf
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