AllSides Balanced Search reveals information and ideas from all sides of the political spectrum so you can get the full picture.
Oct 02 2023
Opinion
Do Social Media Algorithms Polarize Us? Maybe Not.
A safer, saner social media world is possible, former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen told members of Congress in 2021. Instead, she said, leaders at the social media company chose engagement over democracy, using algorithms that kept people glued to the site but also angry, anxious, and ill-informed.
Haugen's diagnosis of the cause of our current political dysfunction (social
ReasonNov 06 2023
Perspectives Blog
Ranked Choice Voting Improves Politicians’ Incentives and Should Reduce Political Polarization
This blog was written by Aaron Kohrs (Center) of the Braver Angels Washington D.C. Alliance. You can contact him at aakohrs121@gmail.com. It was edited by James Coan (Center), Co-Chair of the Braver Angels DC Alliance. You can contact him at jcoan@braverangels.org.
To reduce political polarization, we need to change the electoral systems that currently amplify incentives for
Aaron KohrsOct 19 2023
Perspectives Blog
How Polarized Language Masks Common Ground on Hamas, Israel, and Palestine
From the Left
In the weeks since Hamas launched its deadly attack on Israel, public discourse in the West has been mired in accusations of anti-Israel and anti-Palestinian sentiment. As support, opposition, and criticism collide online, Americans appear to be sharply divided on this issue.
But are we really so divided on the parts of this conflict that matter?
How Pro/ Joseph RatliffSep 13 2023
News
Kevin McCarthy's impeachment inquiry provokes predictably polarized reactions
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's announcement of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden over his connections to his son Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings is provoking some predictably polarized reactions. Most liberal commenters and Democratic elected officials have largely dismissed the effort as a hypocritical, evidence-free witch hunt, while ardent conservatives are cheering
ReasonMar 26 2024
News
Portland City Councilor Roberto Rodriguez will not run for second term
Portland City Councilor Roberto Rodriguez announced Tuesday that will not seek another term in November. Rodriguez was elected to the at-large seat in 2021 after a tied runoff led to a hand recount of votes. He also served two terms on the school board. “I feel like I’m leaving something very different than what I came into,” Rodriguez said in an interview. “It’s been a period of change in our
Portland Press HeraldNov 02 2020
Analysis
Understanding polarization
If you were to reduce the past 30 years of American elections down to a single word, it might well be one you’d never think of: “sorting.” The dominant trend in American politics during that time has been polarization, but that word alone doesn’t capture what’s going on. America is not just becoming more liberal and more conservative. It is sorting into two distinct identities based on
Christian Science MonitorJan 28 2020
Analysis
Why the media is so polarized — and how it polarizes us
We talk a lot about the left/right divide in political media. But we don’t talk enough about the more fundamental divide that precedes and, in some ways, causes it: the interested/uninterested divide.
In All the News That’s Fit to Sell, economist James Hamilton writes, “News emerges not from individuals seeking to improve the functioning of democracy but from readers seeking diversion,
VoxAug 10 2020
Conversation Guide
Media and Polarization
Over the last 50 years, our media has shifted from major networks and newspapers to specialized sources with specific audiences. In other words, we can ‘shop’ for the news that suits us and limit our exposure to news that we don’t like. We often hear that this results in a culture of polarization. But is that actually so? In this conversation we explore how politics has become “not to be
Living Room ConversationsJun 24 2020
Analysis
In praise of polarization
How identity politics changed the Democratic Party — for the better.
Polarization, party sorting, and identity politics are central villains of our time. Politicians lament them. Pundits loathe them. Book after book has been written blaming them for society’s ills, from the decline of reason to the electoral travails of the Democratic Party to the death of American democracy.
But
VoxMar 18 2024
News
Facing its hardest test, Worcester North boys’ basketball had all the answers to complete another perfect season
They fought back both times to deliver knockout punches to complete a 24-0 campaign with a 59-53 win at the Tsongas Center. The Polar Bears took their two biggest punches in their last two games — needing overtime to get past Xaverian in the semifinals, and trailing Franklin by 12 in the third quarter of Sunday’s state final. LOWELL — In defense of its Division 1 boys’ basketball title,
The Boston Globe