Newsletter coming soon at https://progresspending.substack.com/ ## Interesting Statistics: - During high political polarization, Republicans were 21% more likely to share misinformation compared to Democrats - The majority of fake news articles came from pro-Republican outlets - 62% of Republicans believe fake news is specifically intended to harm their party ## Sources: Brannon, Valerie C, and Eric N Holmes. “Section 230: An Overview,” n.d. Brookings. “How Partisan Polarization Drives the Spread of Fake News.” Accessed December 17, 2024. [https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-partisan-polarization-drives-the-spread-of-fake-news/](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-partisan-polarization-drives-the-spread-of-fake-news/). Brookings. “How Partisan Polarization Drives the Spread of Fake News.” Accessed December 18, 2024. [https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-partisan-polarization-drives-the-spread-of-fake-news/](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-partisan-polarization-drives-the-spread-of-fake-news/). Carr, Brendan. “FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION.” _Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise_ Chapter 28 (n.d.). dismislab. “Misinformation on YouTube: High Profits, Low Moderation,” July 10, 2024. [https://en.dismislab.com/misinformation-on-youtube-high-profits-low-moderation/](https://en.dismislab.com/misinformation-on-youtube-high-profits-low-moderation/). Global Witness. “Ahead of US Election, TikTok and Facebook Fail to Block Disinformation.” Accessed December 18, 2024. [https:///en/campaigns/digital-threats/us-election-tiktok-and-facebook-fail-block-harmful-disinformation-youtube-succeeds/](https:///en/campaigns/digital-threats/us-election-tiktok-and-facebook-fail-block-harmful-disinformation-youtube-succeeds/). Grant, Nico. “Election Falsehoods Take Off on YouTube as It Looks the Other Way.” _The New York Times_, October 31, 2024, sec. Technology. [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/31/technology/youtube-election-conspiracy-theories-misinformation.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/31/technology/youtube-election-conspiracy-theories-misinformation.html). “Https://Crsreports.Congress.Gov/Product/Pdf/R/R46751.” Accessed December 18, 2024. [https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46751](https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46751). Johnson, Ash. “The Conservative Weaponization of Government Against Tech,” October 7, 2024. [https://itif.org/publications/2024/10/07/the-conservative-weaponization-of-government-against-tech/](https://itif.org/publications/2024/10/07/the-conservative-weaponization-of-government-against-tech/). Kelly, Makena. “Trump’s FCC Pick Wants to Be the Speech Police. That’s Not His Job.” _Wired_. Accessed December 18, 2024. [https://www.wired.com/story/brendan-carr-fcc-trump-speech-social-media-moderation/](https://www.wired.com/story/brendan-carr-fcc-trump-speech-social-media-moderation/). Valle, Gaby Del. “The Grievance-Driven Blueprint for the next Trump Administration.” The Verge, October 28, 2024. [https://www.theverge.com/24279329/project-2025-tech-policy-guide-trump-admin](https://www.theverge.com/24279329/project-2025-tech-policy-guide-trump-admin). World Economic Forum. “How Worried Are Voters about the Impact of Fake News on the US Election?,” February 17, 2020. [https://www.weforum.org/stories/2020/02/democrats-republicans-fake-news/](https://www.weforum.org/stories/2020/02/democrats-republicans-fake-news/). Zhu, Xiajing, and Cornelia (Connie) Pechmann. “Political Polarization Triggers Conservatives’ Misinformation Spread to Attain Ingroup Dominance.” _Journal of Marketing_ 89, no. 1 (January 1, 2025): 39–55. [https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429241264997](https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429241264997).