Social Media Seen as Mostly Good for Democracy Across Many Nations, But U.S. is a Major Outlier
Most think social media has made it easier to manipulate and divide people, but they also say it informs and raises awareness.
Most think social media has made it easier to manipulate and divide people, but they also say it informs and raises awareness.
Americans’ views of politics and elected officials are unrelentingly negative, with little hope of improvement on the horizon. 65% of Americans say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics. By contrast, just 10% say they always or often feel hopeful about politics.
74% of Republicans say social media has been more of a bad thing for U.S. democracy, compared with a smaller majority of Democrats (57%).
Most think social media has made it easier to manipulate and divide people, but they also say it informs and raises awareness.
People in advanced and emerging economies have mixed feelings about social media’s impact on political life.
Most U.S. adults say President Joe Biden (65%) and Republican leaders in Congress (61%) will be unsuccessful getting their agendas enacted in the next two years; only about a third say the president and GOP leaders will be successful. Republicans are less confident than Democrats in midterm vote counts – but more confident than they were after the 2020 election.
When comparing turnout among the voting-age population in recent national elections in 50 countries, the U.S. ranks 31st.
There has been a sharp decline in the share of Republican voters who are “very confident” that votes cast at polling places will be counted accurately.
Viktor Orban, who’s set to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas, receives generally positive ratings from Hungarians.
Americans’ views vary when it comes to how they see the United States’ standing in the world and the state of its democracy.
Only a small share of Americans have heard a lot about redistricting in their state and a majority are not sure how they feel.