Digital Commons Network^™

In the present day, people have copious options for news consumption, and therefore, are presented with increased opportunity to engage in selective exposure, or the selection of media that confirm their beliefs (Stroud, 2008). Past research in the areas of political tolerance (Sullivan et al., 1979), ideology (Brandt et al., 2014), and political conversations in the context of our relationships (Mutz, 2006) highlights the negative impact of tuning out the other side. In exploring these topics, these scholars set out to determine when individuals are willing to extend tolerance toward groups or views with which they disagree and when they …

An email arrives, promising inside information about the perfidious forces that secretly rule the nation. A Twitter feed from a prominent insider at an establishment think-tank announces the latest disclosure about the president’s secret role in the Russian conspiracy to manipulate the election that elevated him with the blast of toy cannon. Meanwhile, the President’s tweets serve to annoy, distract, humor, or comfort those who see them, and they above all announce some truth about his presidency. 

Debates about government transparency presume that the state controls an informational spigot, which can be made to allow information to flow or to …