Month: September 2014
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New NYT: More fun to spread rumors than truth
From my new Upshot column: It’s no surprise that interesting and unusual claims are often the most widely circulated articles on social media. Who wants to share boring stuff? The problem, however, is that the spread of rumors, misinformation and unverified claims can overwhelm any effort to set the record straight, as we’ve seen during
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New NYT: The coming boom in 3rd party speculation
From my new Upshot column: Remember Unity ’08, Draft Bloomberg or Americans Elect? Most Americans don’t either. The hype built up around these efforts to launch centrist third-party presidential campaigns came to naught. It’s a result that seems likely to repeat itself during the 2016 election cycle.
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New NYT: Getting more out of science
From my Upshot column: In 2013, the federal government spent over $30 billion to support basic scientific research. These funds help create knowledge and stimulate greater productivity and commercial activity, but could we get an even better return on our investment? The problem is that the research conducted using federal funds is driven — and
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New NYT: Facts in the end-of-life care debate
From my new Upshot column: Dealing with health care needs at the end of life is a difficult but unavoidable issue in an aging society with rising health care costs like ours. After a failed attempt to deal with the issue as part of the Affordable Care Act, it may again be returning to the
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New NYT: Political consultant market failure
From my new Upshot column: Labor Day signals the beginning of the fall campaign for both political candidates and the consultants whom they pay hundreds of millions of dollars to help them win in November. Will these hired guns be held accountable for their performance on Election Day? The experience of John McLaughlin, the pollster