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.
Most think social media has made it easier to manipulate and divide people, but they also say it informs and raises awareness.
People in advanced and emerging economies have mixed feelings about social media’s impact on political life.
As daunting challenges from Russia, China and a flagging global economy ripple across the world, Americans and Germans continue to say that relations between their countries are good. Most Americans and Germans continue to see each other as partners on protecting European security, and publics in each country are willing to support using military action to protect themselves and their allies.
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 70% of adults across 19 countries say children in their country will be worse off than their parents financially when they grow up.
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.
In his second year in office, Joe Biden receives generally positive ratings in the 18 countries surveyed in spring 2022.
A median of 55% of adults in 18 surveyed countries have confidence in Kamala Harris to do the right thing regarding world affairs.
Much larger shares of people in most nations see China’s influence growing than say the same of the United States.