Institutions of Democracy

The Annenberg Public Policy Center's civics survey released for Constitution Day found that Americans lack knowledge of some basic constitutional issues, a fact that was of concern to media on many sides of the political spectrum.

Thousands of students across the United States will take the Preamble Challenge to celebrate Constitution Day this year and participate in naturalization ceremonies to swear in new U.S. citizens.

Detailed debunking messages are more effective than just labeling something as wrong, and debunking is more effective when an audience is engaged in helping to correct a message, according to a meta-analysis in Psychological Science.

Many Americans are poorly informed about basic constitutional provisions, according to APPC's Constitution Day Civics Survey. It finds that 37% can’t name any of the rights under the First Amendment and only 26% can name all three branches of government.

In advance of Constitution Day, Annenberg Classroom has released a video on the legal right to confront an accuser in court, which is set out in the Sixth Amendment's "Confrontation Clause."

Oxford University Press has published the hardcover edition of The Oxford Handbook of Political Communication, co-edited by Kathleen Hall Jamieson. The volume is an indispensable overview and a definitive guide to research in the field.

An experimental study of the effect of humor and video in fact-checking finds that both funny and non-humorous videos were more interesting and understandable than a comparable textual fact-checking story.