Quick Reads

Anti-Disinformation Laws: Democratic Backsliding &...
March 19, 2025
A look at how ‘anti-disinformation’ laws exist within continuums of democratic backsliding that produce chilling effects. Read More

What We Learned in 2024: From GenAI to Election Co...
December 16, 2024
Important findings from our 2024 research. Read More

Solidarity Reporting Beyond “The Latino Vote” and ...
November 25, 2024
Prompted by media discourse and criticism in the aftermath of the 2024 U.S. election, the Center for Media Engagmenent held a workshop focused on encouraging journalists to move beyond reductive, monolithic labels, and identifying specific reporting practices for doing so. Read More

Navigating Election Prep in Battleground Areas: Ne...
October 31, 2024
As Election Day approaches, how are newsrooms tasked with covering contentious races handling the pressure? 10 editors at newsrooms in battleground districts or states to learn more about the opportunities and challenges they face. Read More

How News Audiences Respond to Journalist Race and ...
May 22, 2024
Exploring how different racial and ethnic groups respond to bylines from journalists who share their race or ethnicity. Read More

Values, Politics, and Misinformation: Examining Co...
April 23, 2024
This study aims to unpack the values that impact the Filipino diaspora’s political viewpoints and understand how political preferences are technologically communicated using these values. Read More

Fact-Checking Approaches for Broadcast News
February 2, 2024
A test of two fact-checking approaches found that both work equally well to correct misperceptions. Read More

6 Important Outcomes from Our Research This Year
December 19, 2023
Learn more aboout the key outcomes of our research from the past year. Read More

A Simple Online Game Can Help Bridge Political Div...
November 16, 2023
New research that examines whether an online guessing game that includes questions about political issues can help address people’s misperceptions about the other side. Read More

Curbing the Decline of Local News Through Engaged ...
September 6, 2023
Practicing engaged journalism, where newsrooms build relationships with their audience by responding to community concerns, can offer a lifeline. Read More

5 Ways to Build Trust and Bridge Divides
July 1, 2023
Strategies to to combat news distrust and connect with communities that feel underserved by their local newsrooms. Read More

Do Democrats and Republicans Live in Different Wor...
June 27, 2023
A look at whether political partisanship is predictive of people's beliefs in true and false claims. Read More

How Multiple-Choice Quizzes Can Help Fact-Checkers
June 14, 2023
How online multiple-choice quizzes present an opportunity to encourage readers to engage with fact-checking content and to help them learn. Read More

Build Trust Through Your Storytelling Process
April 28, 2023
Five actions newsrooms can throughout the storytelling process that can improve trust. Read More

5 Steps for More Effective Solidarity Reporting
March 15, 2023
When reporting on marginalized communities, it’s imperative to get the story right by including people who help tell the whole story. Read More

What We Can Learn from People in News Deserts
January 15, 2023
While news deserts undeniably pose a problem, there is something to be learned from the way people in news deserts think about access to local information. Read More

A Year in Review: 10 of Our Most Interesting Resea...
December 22, 2022
Person-centered terms encourage stigmatized groups’ trust in news. The Center for Media Engagement, with support from Resolve Philly and Democracy Fund, asked people in recovery from substance abuse disorder, people who have experienced homelessness, and people with a disability for their feedback on news articles. We tested whether the use… Read More

Using the Phrase “Fake News” Hurts Trust in Your J...
December 8, 2022
How three commonly used phrases for false content - fake news, false news, and misinformation - affect public perceptions of journalists and news media. Read More

Using Person-Centered Language Can Build Trust
November 11, 2022
Using person-centered language can foster trust and help news organizations better connect with stigmatized groups. It can also help some marginalized groups feel better represented by news coverage. Read More

Texas’ Asian Communities and EMAs: How WhatsApp an...
October 31, 2022
Political campaigns across the United States are paying close attention to the rising political importance of Asian American communities across the country. Nowhere is this clearer than in Texas. Read More

How Newsrooms Can Address Election Fraud Beliefs
September 15, 2022
Better understanding why some people think Trump likely won in 2020 gives news organizations the opportunity to address legitimacy concerns in future election coverage. Read More

Help Audiences Learn By Adding Quizzes to Stories
July 15, 2022
Adding quizzes to news sites can provide a fun, interactive learning experience for users while also benefitting the news organization. Read More

End-to-end Encryption for Messaging Apps: Importan...
July 6, 2022
The Propaganda Research Lab at the Center for Media Engagement (CME), in collaboration with Omidyar Network, hosted a RightsCon 2022 session on encrypted messaging apps (EMAs) and their global use for political propaganda, mis- and disinformation, activism, and news Read More

Solving Questions of Digital Literacy Through Comm...
June 23, 2022
The Center for Media Engagement explores how public interest principles can be incorporated in social media to combat mis-information in larger communities. Read More

Building a Local System to Fight Misinformation
May 31, 2022
The Center for Media Engagement is working to build a local system for surfacing misinformation that can be adapted for different communities. Read More

Who’s Funding Primetime News – And Why It Matters
April 1, 2022
Do you know who funds the news you watch? As is widely known, some news programs focus on facts, while others focus on opinions. Behind all these programs are advertisers who drive revenue – meaning they have the power to hold news outlets accountable for their coverage. Read More

How Digital Surveillance Deters Protest Participat...
March 9, 2022
This piece provides insights into the ways in which protests are surveilled and outlines two main issues with the practices: (1) general problems with the collection of personal data at protests, and (2) the problematic ways in which protest coverage is used toward political ends. Read More

Making Political Points with Humility Can Bridge D...
February 1, 2022
We found that humility can help people bridge divides, making it a useful approach for news organizations looking to uplift content or comments that build bridges. Read More

Three Ways COVID-19 Affected Kenyan Media and Ho...
January 18, 2022
In the case of COVID-19, disinformation can occur when there is an intention to create a different viewpoint from that of vetted healthcare officials and authorities regarding the disease’s status, spread, prevalence, and management. While this phenomenon has been heavily studied in the U.S. and many European countries, parts of… Read More

10 Research Findings & What they Mean for New...
December 17, 2021
Ten takeaways from our research that can help newsrooms and journalists tackle challenges in the year ahead. Read More