Blogs AllSides

Story of the Week: Vaccine Outlook Improves; Some States Loosen Pandemic Restrictions

News / March 4th, 2021 / By AllSides Staff

Sign up here to receive the Story of the Week in your inbox every Thursday. President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. will now have enough COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate all adults by the end of May, two months sooner than the previously-predicted July. Amid that expansion and...

Story of the Week, coronavirus, coronavirus recovery, coronavirus vaccine, coronavirus stimulus

Democrats and Republicans Actually Both Support These Free Speech Positions

News / March 3rd, 2021 / By Jackson Lanzer

Many Americans share the misperception that America is divided on freedom of speech issues. People on different sides disagree about what constitutes hate speech, what types of speech should be protected, and whether suppression of speech can be productive. However, some recent surveys...

Free Speech, United News Roundup, online censorship, hate speech, campus speech

The History of American Media Bias, Pt. 2: The 1800s

News / March 2nd, 2021 / By Micaela Ricaforte

Click here for Part 1 of this Perspectives series: The Press in Colonial America and Creation of the 1st Amendment . Today, we hold journalists and media outlets accountable to journalistic codes of ethics and a set of standards, which include truth, transparency, and objectivity. When...

us history, Culture, Media Bias, Media industry, History of Media Bias

How AllSides Handles Media Bias in Fact Checking

Bias / March 2nd, 2021 / By AllSides Staff

Fact checking is a critical part of today’s media landscape. But just because something is called a fact check obviously doesn’t mean it’s balanced, fair or even really a fact check at all. AllSides curates fact check articles daily as part of our balanced newsfeed . Our readers...

Facts and Fact Checking, media literacy, AllSides Standards, Media Bias

Unpacking Media Bias in Coverage of Rand Paul, Rachel Levine Exchange

Bias / March 2nd, 2021 / By Julie Mastrine

Media bias was on full display following an exchange during Dr. Rachel Levine’s confirmation hearing last Thursday in front of the U.S. Senate. Dr. Levine is President Joe Biden’s nominee for Assistant Secretary of Health and is transgender. During the hearing, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who...

Media Bias, Rachel Levine, Rand Paul, Transgender, transgender issues, types of media bias

News and Social Media Often Polarize for Profit. New Algorithms and Better Practices Could Help

Recommended Reading / February 28th, 2021 / By Bella Jasper

From the Left This view is from a writer rated Lean Left. In everyday America, many of us do not interact much with others who have different beliefs. We naturally like to be surrounded by like-minded people, whether that be in communities, jobs, or marriages. Over the years, however,...

United News Roundup, media literacy

When Someone You’ve Never Heard Of Is In Charge

Recommended Reading / February 26th, 2021 / By Dan Schnur

From the Center This viewpoint is from a writer rated Center. Most Americans do not know who the parliamentarian of the U.S. Senate is. In fact, most Americans do not know that there is a U.S. Senate parliamentarian. But the position is held by a woman by the name of Elizabeth MacDonough...

Politics, US Senate, Role of Government

Story of the Week: Supreme Court Issues Key Decisions

News / February 25th, 2021 / By AllSides Staff

Sign up here to receive the Story of the Week in your inbox every Thursday. The Supreme Court met at the end of last week on several matters, and made two key decisions. It voted to allow the Manhattan, N.Y. district attorney to pursue former President Donald Trump's tax returns, and it...

Story of the Week, Supreme Court, 2020 Election, voting rights and voter fraud, Trump tax returns

Minneapolis Just Voted to Fund the Police. Why Isn’t That Getting More Coverage?

Recommended Reading / February 24th, 2021 / By Henry A. Brechter

From the Center This viewpoint is from a writer rated Center. Minneapolis, the city where a worldwide movement began last summer after the death of George Floyd, is back in the news again. Well, not really. There are undoubtedly newsworthy things happening in Minnesota. The Minneapolis...

Media Bias, Criminal Justice, police reform, Police Brutality, George Floyd protests

Democrats and Republicans Actually Agree on These Immigration Views and Policies

News / February 24th, 2021 / By Hyria Stuart

Many Americans see themselves as divided on immigration. Disagreements persist about family separation at the southern border, potential criminals entering the country illegally — and even how to describe people who enter the country without authorization. But despite these perceived...

Immigration, United News Roundup, bridging divides, Polarization

Reducing Polarization: Learn That the Other Side Thinks of You More Positively Than You Expect

Recommended Reading / February 22nd, 2021 / By Rolf Hendriks

From the Center This viewpoint is from a writer rated Center. As friendships and family relationships continue to strain or break over political disagreements, Americans are learning firsthand about a new kind of political polarization: affective polarization . Affective polarization is...

United News Roundup, Polarization, bridging divides, Science, psychology

When Everyone Builds Their Own Igloo

Recommended Reading / February 19th, 2021 / By Dan Schnur

From the Center This viewpoint is from a writer rated Center. Many years ago, I worked briefly as the host of a political talk show at a Bay Area radio station. It did not go well. The station’s executive producer quickly grew frustrated with me because of my insistence in talking about...

Polarization, media literacy, Rush Limbaugh, Media industry

Story of the Week: Vaccine Rollout Expands As Cases Fall

News / February 18th, 2021 / By AllSides Staff

Sign up here to receive the Story of the Week in your inbox every Thursday. The Biden administration announced Tuesday it will expand its COVID-19 vaccine distribution, as new cases of the virus continue to fall. The government will boost its weekly vaccine shipments to states from 11...

Story of the Week, coronavirus, coronavirus vaccine, Healthcare, Public Health, Disaster, Texas blackouts

Meet Adam Hoffman, Key Figure Behind a Depolarizing Curriculum for 700,000 High Schoolers

Recommended Reading / February 18th, 2021 / By Jackson Lanzer

From the Center This viewpoint is from a writer rated Center. “We are all in this together” was a powerful message that I gleaned from my conversation with Adam Hoffman on the evening of January 6th, mere hours after a mob of Trump supporters stormed our nation’s capital, embodying the...

United News Roundup, Polarization, Education, Schools, bridging divides, Capitol Chaos

Could Facebook’s Most Recent Action Slow Polarization? Yes, But the American Public Should Prepare to Demand More

Recommended Reading / February 16th, 2021 / By James Coan

From the Center This viewpoint is from a writer rated Center. Last Wednesday, Facebook announced that it would start testing reduced quantities of political content in its News Feed. Testing has already begun in Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia, and it will begin in the United States in the...

United News Roundup, Media industry, Polarization, Facebook, Big Tech, Social Media

How to Retain Your Sanity When Reading the News

News / February 15th, 2021 / By Avanti Giridharan

One of the most unbelievable things in the 21st century is that there was a period in time when the media actually seemed to care about its viewers. The reporting was comparatively more accurate and unafraid to challenge or question powerful people. Fast forward to today, and the...

media literacy, news literacy, News, Mental Health

These Famous Political Opposites Have Been Married for Over 25 Years. How Do They Make It Work?

Recommended Reading / February 12th, 2021 / By Marcia Beckford

A View from the Left This piece is from a writer rated Lean Left. The relationship began when they were political rivals. Mary Matalin was a campaign director for Republican George H.W. Bush. James Carville was the chief strategist for Democrat Bill Clinton. Yet at the start of Bill...

bridging divides, Family and Marriage, United News Roundup, Politics, Polarization

When a Party Has to Balance Between Politics and Principle

Recommended Reading / February 12th, 2021 / By Dan Schnur

From the Center This viewpoint is from a writer rated Center. As the most recent impeachment of Donald Trump progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult to watch as many Republican senators attempt to balance their principled outrage regarding the events of January 6 with the political...

Republican Party, Donald Trump, Impeachment

What Bruce Springsteen's Super Bowl ad gets right about reuniting Americans in 'the middle'

Recommended Reading / February 12th, 2021 / By Henry A. Brechter

From the Center This viewpoint is from a writer rated Center. This piece originally appeared on usatoday.com . There’s a lot of talk about “the middle” these days, about finding agreement with our political opposites. It’s a noble idea, but what does it really look like?" Two American...

bridging divides

Story of the Week: Trump's Second Impeachment Trial Begins

News / February 11th, 2021 / By AllSides Staff

Sign up here to receive the Story of the Week in your inbox every Thursday. Former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial began in the Senate this week. Trump is charged with "incitement of insurrection" leading to the U.S. Capitol breach on Jan. 6 that left five people dead...

Story of the Week, Impeachment, Donald Trump

Perspectives Blog

Perspectives from across the political spectrum

Odd Couples: Red Southern Lawyer + Blue Southern Lawyer

Story of the Week: Vaccine Outlook Improves; Some States Loosen Pandemic Restrictions

Democrats and Republicans Actually Both Support These Free Speech Positions

The History of American Media Bias, Pt. 2: The 1800s

How AllSides Handles Media Bias in Fact Checking

Unpacking Media Bias in Coverage of Rand Paul, Rachel Levine Exchange

News and Social Media Often Polarize for Profit. New Algorithms and Better Practices Could Help

When Someone You’ve Never Heard Of Is In Charge

Story of the Week: Supreme Court Issues Key Decisions

Minneapolis Just Voted to Fund the Police. Why Isn’t That Getting More Coverage?

Democrats and Republicans Actually Agree on These Immigration Views and Policies

Reducing Polarization: Learn That the Other Side Thinks of You More Positively Than You Expect

When Everyone Builds Their Own Igloo

Story of the Week: Vaccine Rollout Expands As Cases Fall

Meet Adam Hoffman, Key Figure Behind a Depolarizing Curriculum for 700,000 High Schoolers

Could Facebook’s Most Recent Action Slow Polarization? Yes, But the American Public Should Prepare to Demand More

How to Retain Your Sanity When Reading the News

These Famous Political Opposites Have Been Married for Over 25 Years. How Do They Make It Work?

When a Party Has to Balance Between Politics and Principle

What Bruce Springsteen's Super Bowl ad gets right about reuniting Americans in 'the middle'

Story of the Week: Trump's Second Impeachment Trial Begins

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