Media

Effective media scrutiny can help mitigate many of the problems that lead to regulatory capture, by helping the polity to become informed and mobilized. But what are the conditions that create effective media scrutiny? And why do we observe so little of it in reality?
“Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.” Justice Louis D. Brandeis

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e-Autocracy: How Social Media Helps the Chinese State Surveil Protests and Spread Propaganda

Bei Qin

The Chinese government has invested heavily in surveillance systems that exploit information on social media. This column shows that these systems are very effective,...

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Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (July 7–14)

ProMarket writers

Brett Kavanaugh is expected to bring his pro-business bent to the Supreme Court; the DOJ is appealing the AT&T-Time Warner merger approval; Britain fines...

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When—and Why—Fact-Checking Cannot Stop Alternative Facts

Ekaterina Zhuravskaya

Correct numbers alone cannot stop charismatic politicians using convincing narratives, even if the latter are based on “alternative facts.” Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to President...

Media

Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (June 30–July 7)

ProMarket writers

Scott Pruitt resigns from the EPA; a new report finds that digital platforms are not fully complying with the EU’s new privacy rules; Google,...

Media

Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (June 23–30)

ProMarket writers

The Supreme Court's Ohio v. American Express has few admirers; the financial disclosure of the new director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection reveals a...

Media

Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (June 16–23)

ProMarket writers

AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner continues to make waves; a New York federal judge says the entire Consumer of Financial Protection Bureau needs to...

Media

Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (June 8–16)

ProMarket writers

The AT&T-Time Warner merger is approved, further fueling the media merger frenzy and providing the Second Gilded Age with “another layer of gold”; net...

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Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (May 26–June 2)

ProMarket writers

Google gives up Project Maven following "terrible" backlash; angry Facebook shareholders demand an end to Mark Zuckerberg's "dictatorship"; American startups are in a 13-year slump; and Italy...

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Editors’ Briefing: This Week in Political Economy (May 19–26)

ProMarket writers

Trump signs the largest rollback of financial regulations since the 2008 crisis into law; Zuckerberg masterfully evades the questions of European parliamentarians; Amazon has...

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