Blogs AllSides

Twitter Suspends Journalist, Because Defining “Hate Speech” is Harder Than You’d Think

Bias / November 27th, 2019 / By Julie Mastrine

On Nov. 25, Twitter temporarily suspended Andy Ngo , a journalist known for documenting political violence, due to a tweet he sent to Chelsea Clinton. The suspension is a case study in differing definitions of “ hate speech ” on the left and right. Last week, Clinton retweeted the Human...

Journalism, Hate Speech, Twitter, Social Media, Censorship

As News Grows on Social Media, Trust Shrinks

News / November 26th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Social media has become an epicenter for up-to-the-minute news on just about everything. Predictably, like many of the speed and convenience driven habits society has recently adopted, it’s not very healthy. And while people seem to see that, it’s not enough to stop them from scrolling...

Social Media, Technology, Twitter, Facebook, Big Tech, Journalism

Story of the Week: In Testimony, Gordon Sondland Talks Ukraine Quid Pro Quo

Story of the Week / November 22nd, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Gordon Sondland, the U.S. Ambassador to the Eurpoean Union, testified publicly Wednesday in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Sondland's statements gave new insight on the alleged "quid pro quo" between Trump and Ukraine; he gave credence to the allegations, saying "...

Story Of The Week, Gordon Sondland, Impeachment, Ukraine, Donald Trump

Media Bias Watch: How Media Sensationalism Can Alter Our Reality

Bias / November 21st, 2019 / By Julie Mastrine

It's probably not a stretch to say most of us would prefer to come to our own conclusions about events, rather than being told what to think. But when we don’t know how to spot media bias , we may end up being swayed or manipulated in one direction or the other. A video shared on social...

Media Bias

Story of the Week: Supreme Court Hears DACA Case

Story of the Week / November 15th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Tracking impeachment: The first publicly televised hearings in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump were held Tuesday, as former diplomat Bill Taylor offered investigators new details of Trump's engagement with Ukraine. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) came before the...

Story Of The Week, Supreme Court, Immigration, DACA, Dreamers, Donald Trump, Barack Obama

Media Bias Alert: Coverage of Don Cherry's Firing Differs on Left and Right

Bias / November 13th, 2019 / By Julie Mastrine

Longtime TV personality Don Cherry, considered by many to be a legendary personality due to his 38-year career, was fired by Sportsnet Monday after he said not enough people (or immigrants, depending on whom you ask) in Toronto wear poppies to honor veterans on Remembrance Day. The...

Media Bias, Don Cherry, Cancel Culture, Culture War, Race And Racism, Political Correctness

Teaching Children to Resolve Conflict: Q&A with "Two Tribes "Author Tyler Storlie

News / November 8th, 2019 / By Julie Mastrine

Earlier this summer, we wrote about a new children's book, Two Tribes , that exposes the dangers of political polarization and shows that solutions and compromises are both possible and necessary for humans to thrive and get along in peace. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Two...

Media Bias, Political Polarization, Polarization

Story of the Week: State Elections Prompt 2020 Speculation

Story of the Week / November 8th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Tracking impeachment: President Trump called for the whistleblower to testify publicly, as televised hearings on the impeachment inquiry are scheduled to begin next week with three high-profile testimonies. Tuesday's gubernatorial and legislative elections in key states including Kentucky...

Story Of The Week, Election 2020, Kentucky, Virginia, Mississippi, Matt Bevin

Beyond Depolarization: What Our Movement is Becoming

Bias / November 6th, 2019 / By John R. Wood Jr.

Editor's Note: This piece originally appeared on Better Angels . Better Angels and other individuals and organizations have been working hard to depolarize American politics. But can the movement to depolarize America break into the mainstream? Or is it transforming into something that...

Media Bias, Polarization, Political Polarization

Podcast: The Effects of Political Polarization on Our Culture

Bias / November 4th, 2019 / By John R. Wood Jr.

Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on Better Angels . Bret Weinstein is a professor of evolutionary biology. He was at the center of the moral panic at Evergreen State College in May of 2017, after which time his public commentary led him to a place of prominence in the cross-...

Political Polarization, Civil Discourse

Story of the Week: ISIS Leader Killed In U.S. Raid

Story of the Week / November 1st, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Tracking impeachment: Two diplomats testified before impeachment investigators Wednesday about President Donald Trump's attitude toward the Ukraine, while the House of Representatives voted 232-196 Thursday morning to move forward with the impeachment inquiry. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader...

Story Of The Week, ISIS, Terrorism, United States, Donald Trump, Military, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi

When Presidents Abuse Their Power: Impeachment, Criticism, or Pass?

News / October 31st, 2019 / By John Gable, AllSides Co-founder

Has Donald Trump abused his power ? How do his actions stack up to other Presidents in recent history? When people have thought a President used his office for personal gain or to unfairly advance his own political career, things have turned chaotic. Here are some top examples of alleged...

Impeachment, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Richard Nixon

Major Shifts in American Attitudes on Unbiased News and Civility

Bias / October 30th, 2019 / By John Gable, AllSides Co-founder

Despite the overwhelming division and non-stop crisis apparent in the media — from impeachment to Syria to threats to our democratic institutions — it's not all doom and gloom. We've got some good news — news so core to our mission that we decided to share with all of our friends...

Media Bias, Civil Discourse, Civility, AllSides

Story of the Week: State Department Completes Review Of Hillary Clinton's Private Server

Story of the Week / October 25th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Tracking impeachment: Former U.S. Ambassador William Taylor testified before several closed-door House committees Tuesday, providing more details about a potential "quid pro quo" involving foreign aid and a Ukrainian investigation of the Bidens, allegedly pushed by President Trump. A...

Story Of The Week, Hillary Clinton, Benghazi

The New Culture of Censorship

News / October 24th, 2019 / By Phillip Bader

Free speech is protected by the First Amendment because it’s vital to sustaining not only free thought, but free action as well. Our freedom of speech means we can discuss ideas, call attention to any form of injustice in the system, and have no fear expressing what we think of the...

Free Speech, Censorship, California

Republicans and Democrats Switch Stances on Trade, Syria, Immigration

Bias / October 21st, 2019 / By John Gable, AllSides Co-founder

While there can certainly be a lot of ideological diversity among members of the same political party, Republicans and Democrats generally share the same stances on key issues as their fellow party members. So when ideas switch parties entirely, things can get interesting. Today, issues...

Republican Party, Democrats, Immigration, Syria, Trade, Free Trade

Story of the Week: Hunter Biden Steps Down from Chinese Company, Admits "Poor Judgement"

Story of the Week / October 18th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Tracking impeachment: Attention has shifted to President Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani , who is accused of pushing the Ukrainian government to investigate the Bidens on Trump's behalf. Hunter Biden, son of Joe Biden, forfeited his spot on the board of a Chinese private equity firm...

Story Of The Week, Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Ukraine, China, Impeachment

Project Veritas, CNN and the Ethics of Undercover Reporting

Bias / October 17th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

On Monday, Project Veritas, a right-wing activist group that seeks to uncover media bias, began releasing videos that claim to reveal a paramount anti-Donald Trump bias within CNN. Videos present undercover recordings of CNN president Jeff Zucker telling employees to “stay focused” on...

Media Bias, CNN, Project Veritas, Donald Trump, Journalism, 1st Amendment, ABC News

Ellen DeGeneres Moves America Beyond Harmful Polarization

Bias / October 15th, 2019 / By Samantha Shireman

Last week, Ellen DeGeneres was criticized on Twitter after photos of her sitting next to former First Couple George W. and Laura Bush at a Dallas Cowboys game surfaced online. Ellen responded to the criticism in a monologue on her show, saying, "I'm friends with George Bush. In fact, I'm...

Civility, Ellen DeGeneres, George Bush, Political Polarization

Turkey Begins Military Offensive In Northern Syria After U.S. Troops Pulled From Region

Story of the Week / October 12th, 2019 / By Henry A. Brechter

Tracking impeachment: The White House wrote a letter to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, calling the impeachment inquiry into president Donald Trump "unconstitutional" and refusing to comply with it. Former Vice President Joe Biden publicly called for Trump to be impeached at a...

Story Of The Week, Turkey, Syria, Military, Foreign Policy, International Relations

Perspectives Blog

Government Shutdown: Tracking Updates, Media Bias and More