Trust, Facts & Democracy

Many experts fear uncivil and manipulative behaviors on the internet will persist – and may get worse.

Large majorities of the public, Republicans and Democrats alike, say open and fair elections and a system of governmental checks and balances are essential to maintaining a strong democracy in the United States.

A new analysis of more than 200,000 press releases and Facebook posts from the official accounts of members of the 114th Congress uses methods from the emerging field of computational social science to quantify how often legislators themselves “go negative” in their outreach to the public.

Trump voters named one source more than any other as their main source of election news, whereas Clinton voters were spread across an array of sources.

Pew Research Center President Michael Dimock examines the changes – some profound, some subtle – that the U.S. experienced during Barack Obama’s presidency.

About two-in-three U.S. adults say fake news stories cause a great deal of confusion about the basic facts of current issues. And nearly a quarter say they have ever shared completely made-up news.

A majority of U.S. adults (59%) reject the idea of adding interpretation, saying that the news media should present the facts alone

Digital innovation has had a major impact on the public's news habits. How have these changes shaped Americans’ appetite for and attitudes toward the news?

There has been a modest drop in overall rates of belief in God and participation in religious practices. But religiously affiliated Americans are as observant as before.

There has been a modest drop in overall rates of belief in God and participation in religious practices. But religiously affiliated Americans are as observant as before.