Social Media Seen as Mostly Good for Democracy Across Many Nations, But U.S. is a Major Outlier
Most think social media has made it easier to manipulate and divide people, but they also say it informs and raises awareness.
19 country public survey conducted from Feb. 14 to June 3, 2022.
Most think social media has made it easier to manipulate and divide people, but they also say it informs and raises awareness.
Most in advanced economies say voting, taking steps to reduce climate change and getting a COVID-19 vaccine are ways to be a good member of society; fewer say this about attending religious services.
The Chinese Communist Party is preparing for its 20th National Congress, an event likely to result in an unprecedented third term for President Xi Jinping. Since Xi took office in 2013, opinion of China in the U.S. and other advanced economies has turned more negative. How did it get to be this way?
Despite the many depressing stories dominating the international news cycle, there is also a note of positivity among survey respondents in views of the UN, the benefits of international cooperation for solving problems and the importance of common values for bringing nations together.
A median of 68% across 19 countries think their country has done a good job dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, with majorities saying this in every country surveyed except Japan. However, most also believe the pandemic has created greater divisions in their societies and exposed weaknesses in their political systems – and these view are especially common in the U.S.
As President Joe Biden embarks on his first visit to Israel as president, he does so against an amicable backdrop: A majority of adults in both Israel and the United States have favorable views of the other country and the current state of bilateral relations, though Americans’ views on Israel differ sharply by party and age.
Large majorities in most of the 19 countries surveyed have negative views of China, but relatively few say bilateral relations are bad.
Most say U.S. is reliable partner, and ratings for Biden are mostly positive – although down significantly from last year.
More than nine-in-ten Poles see Russia as a major threat and have no confidence at all in Putin