Bridging Divides

Exploring the use of “connective language” as a way to help people better connect with each other and enjoy their online experience. Read More

Given the diminishing trust in U.S. news media, especially among political conservatives, the Center for Media Engagement set out to examine whether certain storytelling approaches affect people’s perceptions of credibility and bias. Read More

In a special issue of Social Media + Society, CME researchers curate a collection of scholarly articles that explore connective democracy. Read More

Examining a novel approach to identifying “connective language” that brings people together on social media.   Read More

Public-friendly digital spaces where people feel welcome, make connections, build understanding, and work together can seem elusive. This work builds on our Civic Signals project to investigate how members of Vermont’s Front Porch Forum perceive the platform. Read More

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

The Center for Media Engagement partnered with Resolve Philly to explore a small, yet impactful, way that journalists can connect with misrepresented or stigmatized audiences: using person-centered language, as opposed to stereotypical labels, to describe communities in news articles. Read More

The Center for Media Engagement interviewed 56 people who believed that Donald Trump most likely won the 2020 presidential election to talk about their political outlooks, how they constructed their picture of what happened in the election, and what sources they trusted to tell them the truth. Read More

Previous research by the Center for Media Engagement found that a sense of common humanity – where people recognize that their own failings are common human experiences – can help bring people together. Now we examine whether this feeling can be fostered with something as simple as a meme. Read More

The Center for Media Engagement tested a tool that makes digital conversations across divides easier: expressing humility when sharing a political opinion. The results showed that writing online posts with humility can help bridge divides. Read More

Protest coverage often casts protesters and their causes in a negative light, particularly when covering underrepresented groups. To help journalists frame stories in ways that do not harm these groups, the Center for Media Engagement examined two story areas of particular concern. Read More

The Center for Media Engagement partnered with Trusting News and 27 local newsrooms to investigate how news organizations can help bridge the divide between the media and American conservative and right-leaning audiences. Read More

The Center for Media Engagement asked U.S. citizens about their expectations related to how scientists communicate with them. Read More

The Center for Media Engagement partnered with the Dallas Free Press to explore how Dallas residents perceive local media and how they think that media can better serve their communities. Read More

We asked adults about a range of hot-button issues to find out how much the American public knows about contentious political issues. Read More

The Center for Media Engagement asked American adults to answer questions about how platforms like Facebook and Google operate. The answers we received revealed important gaps in what the American public knows about how these platforms work. Read More

The Center for Media Engagement asked Black Americans how news organizations can better cover their communities to help bridge the divide between them and the media. Read More

Being able to form relationships with people you disagree with or viewing them with compassion is not easy. In this study, the Center for Media Engagement wanted to find out what types of personal self-compassion are more common among people who are better at doing this. Read More

As politics continue to push Americans further apart, it can be difficult to find common ground. The Center for Media Engagement wanted to see what habits are common in people who find ways to get along with people they disagree with politically. Read More

The Center for Media Engagement wanted to know whether adding humanizing details about people when reporting on controversial political issues could help bring readers together across lines of difference and improve attitudes toward news organizations. Read More

How can you communicate with people you disagree with politically? This report reveals five strategies you can use. Read More

  The Center for Media Engagement partnered with ProPublica to determine if news story headlines and images can be crafted in ways that appeal to both liberals and conservatives. We found that Facebook ads using straightforward photographs, instead of illustrated graphics, performed better among both liberals and conservatives. However, changing… Read More

In the aftermath of the 2018 midterm elections, it is clear that our country is divided. This report reviews best practices from academics and journalists on how to bring diverse groups together. Read More