What would the 1864 presidential campaign have looked like if Abe Lincoln and Gen. George B. McClellan had used today’s deceptive campaign techniques and video attack ads? Lincoln was reelected 150 years ago on Nov. 8, and his campaign against McClellan has been reimagined by the political literacy website FlackCheck.org through a video timeline of ads that use humor, parody, and contemporary deceptive approaches.
Scientists can minimize the likelihood that their message will be rejected in a politically polarized environment by avoiding advocacy, relying on trusted sources, and inviting the audience to understand the evidence that justifies the scientific conclusion, according to a new study by Annenberg Public Policy Center researchers published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It showed that conservatives were able to draw the correct inferences about the downward trend in the Arctic sea ice despite exposure to a misleading Fox News report.