Communications

Person reading success story how-to book.

Do success stories cause false beliefs about success?

Does explicitly acknowledging bias make us less likely to make biased decisions? A new study examining how people justify decisions based on biased data finds that this is not exactly the case.

Fact Check-‘VAIDS’ is not a real vaccine-induced syndrome, experts say; no evidence COVID-19 vaccines cause immunodeficiency

Stephen Gluckman of the Perelman School of Medicine debunked false claims that vaccines can create immunodeficiency.

Journalism is outdated: Barbie Zelizer discusses a new ‘manifesto’

In ‘The Journalism Manifesto’, Annenberg School of Communications’ Barbie Zelizer and her co-authors argue that journalism needs a major transformation in order to survive as an essential pillar of our democracy.

TV camera in front of a crowd of people.

Racial justice protests influenced local news reporting

A new Media, Inequality, and Change Center report finds that news coverage of policing did become more inclusive and less dehumanizing, but was still heavily slanted toward a police perspective.

Hard barriers and soft power: Study assesses outsider perceptions of border walls

Two researchers explore how border walls damage a country’s international image, with real soft power implications.

Two human figures communicating via different colors, shapes, and dialog boxes.

Want to reduce political polarization? Start by looking beyond politics

New research from PIK University Professor Duncan Watts sheds light on how even hardliners can be swayed when coming in contact with opposing viewpoints.

Cover of the book "Creating conspiracy beliefs: How our thoughts are shaped" by Dolores Albarracín, Julia Albarracín, Man-pui Sally Chan, and Kathleen Hall Jamieson

A novel theory on how conspiracy theories take shape

In a new book, Dolores Albarracín, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, and colleagues show that two factors—the conservative media and societal fear and anxiety—have driven recent widespread conspiracies, from Pizzagate to those around COVID-19 vaccines.

Three new pandemic initiatives launch as Biden hits one-year mark

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center said that even if vaccination rates continue to climb despite anti-vax sentiments, there would still be room for improvement. “Even the relatively small part of the population that accepts misinformation is problematic,” she said.

Person looking at laptop computer, visibly concerned.

What can be done to prevent and resist image-based abuse?

A virtual symposium held by Annenberg’s Center for Media at Risk and the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative brought together experts from around the world to analyze the abuse commonly referred to as “revenge porn.”

Adult holding a toothbrush standing with arm around toddler brushing teeth.

Parental praise associated with longer toddler toothbrushing, a barometer of persistence

Using a first-of-its-kind video-based study, Penn and Yale developmental psychologists found that how parents talk to their 3-year-old during toothbrushing matters to the child’s behavior.

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