Blogs AllSides

Story of the Week: Taliban Peace Talks Cancelled After Kabul Attack

Story of the Week / September 13th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

President Donald Trump said he canceled previously secret negotiations with Taliban leaders after the group claimed a bombing that killed 12, including a U.S. service member, in Kabul last week. Most reporting focused primarily on fallout from the cancellation and a recap of recent Trump-...

Story Of The Week, Taliban, Donald Trump, Peace, Afghanistan, Middle East

Illegal ballot harvesting caused a do-over House election in North Carolina. What are the pros and cons?

News / September 10th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

A U.S. House special election in North Carolina’s 9th congressional district on Tuesday is essentially a do-over after a candidate’s 2018 victory was negated by allegations of illegal ballot harvesting . The election could flip a longtime Republican district, and has shifted national...

Ballot Harvesting, Voter Fraud, North Carolina, Donald Trump, Republicans, Democrats, Government, Trust

Media Bias Alert: Higher Poll Numbers Don’t Always Mean More Democratic Debate Questions

News / September 9th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Presidential debates are inevitably scrutinized for how many questions were asked of each candidate and how much speaking time each candidate was allowed. On the 2020 Democratic debate stage, the largest field of candidates in U.S. history, the number of questions asked can make or break...

Media Bias, News, Presidential Election, 2020 Election, Presidential Debates, Democratic Party

Story of the Week: After Protests, Hong Kong Withdraws Extradition Bill

Story of the Week / September 7th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam announced the withdrawal of a controversial bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be extradited to mainland China for trial. The bill, which had been suspended since July, led to months of protests. A majority of news coverage...

Story Of The Week, Hong Kong, China, Extradition, Criminal Justice, Carrie Lam

Country Before Party - My Entry into the Democratic Reform Movement

Bias / September 5th, 2019 / By Jeremy Garson

Editor's Note: This piece originally appeared on Bridge Alliance . My name is Jeremy Garson and I am a recovering partisan. For years I had a reflexive need to defend anything and everything “my party” (the Democratic Party) said and did. I would forgo critical thinking when I saw a “D”...

Polarization, Democratic Party, Bi-Partisanship

The Psychology of Polarization And How We Can Overcome Our Prejudices

Bias / September 4th, 2019 / By Kelly Murphy

Editor's Note: This piece originally appeared on Bridge Alliance . The polar vortex may have retreated for the winter months ago, but the political polarization within the United States certainly has not. Just as meteorologists provide scientific explanations for our frozen toes, social...

Polarization, Psychology, Prejudice, Bias, Politics

Story of the Week: Brazil, Rest of World Place Blame for Amazon Fires

Story of the Week / August 31st, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Fires have burned parts of Brazil's Amazon rainforest, setting up an international feud between Brazil and some the world's largest economic powers, and prompting a widespread social media buzz on climate change and big government. Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro refused roughly $20...

Brazil, G7, Jair Bolsonaro, Emmanuel Macron, Donald Trump, Story Of The Week

We're a Civvys Finalist!

News / August 28th, 2019 / By Julie Mastrine

AllSides is pleased to announce we are a finalist in the National category for the 2019 American Civic Collaboration Awards (the “Civvys”) ! Now in its third year, the Civvys are the only national awards program dedicated to celebrating projects that emphasize working together across...

AllSides

Media Bias Alert: New York Times and Fox News Reveal Divide on Electoral College

Bias / August 26th, 2019 / By Julie Mastrine

Last week, a Colorado federal appeals court ruled that presidential electors in the Electoral College have the right to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice, regardless of which candidate won the state’s popular vote. Coverage of the ruling in the New York Times , which...

Media Bias, Electoral College, Voting, 2020 Election, Presidential Elections

Story of the Week: Coverage of Portland Rally Differs in Detail

Story of the Week / August 23rd, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

A rally hosted by far-right demonstrators was met by far-left counter protesters on Saturday in Portland, Oregon. The events are the latest in a series of public standoffs between political extremists in Portland, featuring violent episodes and attacks on free speech that have gained the...

Story Of The Week, Portland, Antifa, Proud Boys, Far-Left, Far-Right, Right-Wing, Left-Wing, Free Speech, Protests

Pop-Culture and Polarization: with Chloe Valdary

Bias / August 21st, 2019 / By Tara Parekh

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on Better Angels. Listen to Ciaran O’Connor and John Wood, Jr. break down the political and racial divides alongside special guest, Chloe Valdary. Chloe Valdary is a writer and the founder of the Theory of Enchantment, a curriculum which...

Political Polarization, Polarization, Culture, Race, Politics

Social Media Wasn't Built for Balanced News

News / August 21st, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Let’s say you live right across the street from a takeout restaurant. Their prices are a bit higher than local competitors, and there are constant rumors of health code violations and mystery meat. But for the sake of speed and convenience, you usually eat there anyway. After all, you’ve...

Social Media, Balanced News, Media Bias, Twitter, Facebook, Pew Research Center

The War on Empathy

Bias / August 19th, 2019 / By John R. Wood Jr.

Editor's Note: This piece originally appeared on Better Angels . Take a look at the meaning of the word empathy. Ruminate on its definition— "the ability to understand and share the feelings of another." It is the light by which we may call forth the best qualities of our fellow Americans...

Bias, Polarization, Political Polarization

Story of the Week: Mass Shootings Prompt Debates on Guns, Underlying Causes

Story of the Week / August 9th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Two tragic mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso last weekend prompted a resurgence of debates on gun control, gun rights and underlying causes, both on Capitol Hill and throughout the country. Media coverage was largely split in the aftermath. Many left-leaning outlets focused on white...

Story Of The Week, Violence In America, Gun Violence, Gun Rights, Gun Reform, Gun Control, Guns

Story of the Week: Second Dem Debates Reveal Party Infighting

Story of the Week / August 7th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Detroit played host to the second round of 2020 Democratic presidential debates on Tuesday and Wednesday, in a combative showing that outlined key differences in policy priorities and ideologies among the 20 candidates. On both nights, candidates sparred over topics ranging from...

Story Of The Week, 2020 Election, Democratic Party, Campaign Rhetoric

Audit: Google Heavily Favors CNN and Left Media in Mass Shooting Coverage

Bias / August 7th, 2019 / By AllSides Staff

RESEARCH REPORT The days following two tragic mass shootings in Dayton, OH and El Paso, TX were extremely active for newsrooms nationwide. But readers who used Google to learn about the shootings may have seen an overwhelming majority of news from left-leaning media sources — CNN, the New...

Media Bias, Google Bias, Bias, Bias Against Conservatives, Google, Mass Shooting, Mass Shootings

President Trump Tweets About Media Bias in Wake of Mass Shootings

Bias / August 5th, 2019 / By Julie Mastrine

President Trump tweeted about media bias following two mass shootings that occurred over the weekend in Dayton, OH and El Paso, TX. The shootings had claimed 29 lives as of Monday afternoon. The Media has a big responsibility to life and safety in our Country. Fake News has contributed...

Media Bias, Gun Violence, Violence In America, Biased News, Bias, Violence, Gun Control And Gun Rights

When Talking to Liberals, Conservatives May Want to Avoid These Terms

Bias / August 2nd, 2019 / By James Coan

Editor’s note: See our list of terms liberals may want to avoid when talking to conservatives. Suppose you are talking to another person who has very different political viewpoints. Everything seems to be going fine. Then, you say a word or phrase that unintentionally alienates the other...

Bias, Polarization, Bridging Divides, Bridging America's Divide, Liberals, Conservatives

Second Democratic Debate Reveals CNN Media Bias

News / August 1st, 2019 / By Julie Mastrine

The second round of the Democratic debates , held Tuesday and Wednesday nights in Detroit, revealed media bias on the part of CNN and its moderators. AllSides tracked how many direct questions and follow-up questions were asked of each candidate and found a clear bias. Former Vice...

Media Bias, CNN, Democratic Debate, Democrats, Democratic Debates, Election 2020

What Queer Eye Can Teach Us About Bridging Divides

Bias / July 22nd, 2019 / By Samantha Shireman

“If you voted for Trump, unfollow me.” Most of us are familiar with this sentiment. It is common for people to not want to be associated with those whose values and opinions they deem dangerous or hateful. Tuning out voices we disagree with is not a practice unique to the Left, but as a...

Bridging Divides, Bridging America's Divide, Television, Progressives, Progressivism, Bias Against Conservatives, Arts And Entertainment

Perspectives Blog

Party Leaders Race to Pass Debt Ceiling Deal as Default Looms