The most significant pandemic of our lifetime arrived as the United States was experiencing three major societal trends: a growing divide between partisans of the left and right, decreasing trust in many institutions, and a massive splintering of the information environment.

COVID-19 did not cause any of this, but these forces fueled the country’s divided response. Looking back, nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults (72%) say the pandemic did more to drive the country apart than to bring it together.

Partisan polarization significantly drives stress and anxiety among Americans, and recent aggregate-level studies suggest polarization may be shaping their health. This individual-level study uses a new representative dataset of 2,752 US residents surveyed between December 2019 and January 2020, some US residents report more days of poor physical and mental health per month than others.

While the internet has made accessing information and updates on what is happening in the world extremely easy, it has also facilitated the proliferation of fake news. Over the past decades, fake news has thus become a heated topic of debate, with some social media platforms introducing measures aimed at curbing online misinformation.

After many years of steady decline, the share of Americans who identify as Christians shows signs of leveling off – at least temporarily – at slightly above six-in-ten, according to a massive new Pew Research Center survey of 36,908 U.S. adults.

The Religious Landscape Study (RLS) is the largest single survey the Center conducts, aiming to provide authoritative figures on the size of U.S. religious groups because the U.S. census does not collect that information.

After many years of steady decline, the share of Americans who identify as Christians shows signs of leveling off – at least temporarily – at slightly above six-in-ten, according to a massive new Pew Research Center survey of 36,908 U.S. adults.

The Religious Landscape Study (RLS) is the largest single survey the Center conducts, aiming to provide authoritative figures on the size of U.S. religious groups because the U.S. census does not collect that information.

Americans continue to register record-low trust in the mass media, with 31% expressing a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the media to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly,” similar to last year’s 32%. Americans’ trust in the media -- such as newspapers, television and radio -- first fell to 32% in 2016 and did so again last year.

For the third consecutive year, more U.S. adults have no trust at all in the media (36%) than trust it a great deal or fair amount. Another 33% of Americans express “not very much” confidence.

For many years, the conventional wisdom was that only highly biased, less educated media consumers would put partisanship over truth – in other words, they would believe news that confirmed their worldview, regardless of whether it was true. Then, studies done in the past few years showed that media consumers of all backgrounds put truth above partisanship, with a 2021 review paper claiming that the veracity of the news was more than four times more impactful than whether it confirmed a participant’s political beliefs.

A federal judge temporarily halted multiple intelligence agencies from firing employees engaging in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, documents show.

The order, filed Tuesday, specifically blocks the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from terminating 11 anonymous federal workers from their DEI roles in the federal government.

Since October 7, antisemitism has metastasized, growing from chants and signs held at rallies to violence and threats against Jews. This is by no means an exhaustive list — sadly, the incidents are likely too great in number to catalog — but it is a window into the conditions Jews have faced in America and the West since Hamas attacked Israel and antisemites celebrated. We will update this list as necessary, and unfortunately, it seems like it will be necessary.