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.
Most Americans see little ability for the U.S. and China to cooperate on climate change policy or combating the spread of infectious disease. A majority of Americans continue to view the China-Russia partnership as a very serious problem for the U.S.
We asked respondents in both countries to, in their own words, define what democracy means to them. Most commonly, people mention three broad concepts: freedom and human rights, elections and procedures, and having a voice in government.
Many legislators in four English-speaking countries directly addressed George Floyd’s killing and the subsequent protests on Twitter.
Though younger people tend to be more internationally oriented than older adults, they differ from one another over how they want their country to engage with the world.
Younger adults in eight Western European countries are about twice as likely as older adults to get news online than from TV. They also are more critical of the media’s performance and coverage of key issues.
Across eight Western European countries, people with populist leanings have more negative attitudes about the news media than do those with non-populist views.
Thirty years ago, a wave of optimism swept across Europe as walls and regimes fell, and long-oppressed publics embraced open societies, open markets and a more united Europe. Three decades later, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that few people in the former Eastern Bloc regret the monumental changes of 1989-1991.
They tend to be more left-leaning, more progressive in their social and political views, more receptive to immigrants and more favorable toward the European Union. They are also more mixed in their views of traditional center-left parties than older Western Europeans.
Regardless of populist sentiments, people in Western Europe tend to favor parties that reflect their own ideological orientation. With regard to policy, too, ideology continues to matter.
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