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.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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.
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?
Amid growing discontent with the state of democracy globally, we asked over 30,000 people what changes would make their democracy work better.
Americans see China as a growing superpower – and increasingly say it is the world’s leading economy.
Large majorities in most of the 19 countries surveyed have negative views of China, but relatively few say bilateral relations are bad.
Americans expect China’s international reputation will suffer because of how the country has handled the coronavirus outbreak.
Unfavorable views of China also hover near historic highs in most of the 17 advanced economies surveyed.
Unfavorable opinion of China in the U.S. is at its highest level in 14 years of polling. Americans also increasingly see China as a threat, and more than half see friction in the current bilateral economic relationship.
Wide majorities in most of the 17 advanced economies surveyed say having people of many different backgrounds improves their society, but most also see conflicts between partisan, racial and ethnic groups.
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