Use of election forecasts in campaign coverage can confuse voters and may lower turnout
Probability forecasts have gained prominence in recent years. But these forecasts may confuse potential voters and may even lower the likelihood that they vote.
Publications
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There’s a large gender gap in congressional Facebook posts about sexual misconduct
About seven-in-ten women in Congress mentioned sexual misconduct in their official Facebook posts between Oct. 1 and Dec. 30, 2017, compared with 37% of men in Congress.
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Very liberal or conservative legislators most likely to share news on Facebook
The most ideological members of Congress shared news stories on their Facebook pages more than twice as often as moderate legislators between Jan. 2, 2015, and July 20, 2017, according to a new Pew Research Center study that examined all official Facebook posts created by members of Congress in this period. The analysis included links […]
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Americans interested in the environment are the most likely to feel civic obligation to follow science news
While there are many reasons that Americans get science news, the most common driver of attention to science news is curiosity, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center study. But people are also motivated to seek out science news for different reasons depending on the issues they care about most, with the environment being a prime example.
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Split U.S. Senate delegations have become less common in recent years
Doug Jones’ victory in Alabama gives that state its first split Senate delegation in more than two decades. But delegations with two senators of different parties still are much less common than they used to be: With 14 split delegations, the current Senate is tied for the second-fewest in the past 50 years.
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Sharing the News in a Polarized Congress
Political divides in the American news landscape do not end with Americans’ preferences for different news sources; rather, they extend to how members of the U.S. Congress communicate with constituents in the digital age.
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Number of U.S. workers employed by foreign-owned companies is on the rise
Foreign-owned companies employed 6.8 million workers in the United States in 2015, up 22% from 2007. Overall, foreign-owned companies accounted for 5.5% of all U.S. private sector employment in 2015.
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U.S. Senate seats rarely have flipped to other party in recent special elections
Senate seats have rarely flipped to the other party in recent special elections, and turnout usually lags compared with regular elections for the same seat.
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Mixed Messages about Public Trust in Science
America’s confidence in the scientific community appears to be relatively strong. But the degree of public trust in scientists across climate, food and medical issues varies, and many express moderate rather than strongly positive views.
