Glenn Altschuer, the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies and Dean of Continuing Education and Summer Session, and Sidney Tarrow, the Emeritus Maxwell Upson Professor of Government, both in the College of Arts & Sciences, recently wrote an opinion piece in The Hill on the topic of fake news. The article focuses on the relationship between partisan polarization and a growing distrust of the "establishment," whether that be government officials and career politicians or news sources.
"As polarization and the media revolution have advanced, the relationship between political beliefs and party identification has been reversed," they write. "According to political scientists Alan Abramowitz and Steven Webster, rather than ideas empowering partisanship, partisan commitments encourage support for political ideas — no matter how deceptive, false, or bonkers they seem to more neutral observers."
