Follow the specific guidelines below, and discuss the provided prompts in detail.
* Pre-writing activity
* Read one of the listed research studies on media in the 2016 presidential election (below). Make sure you pay attention to graphs (and other data visualization).
* “Partisanship, Propaganda, and Disinformation: Online Media and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election” – Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society
* https://cyber.harvard.edu/publications/2017/08/mediacloud
* “News Coverage of the 2016 General Election: How the Press Failed Voters” – Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy
* https://shorensteincenter.org/news-coverage-2016-general-election
* “Candidates differ in their use of social media to connect with the public” – Pew Research Center
* http://www.journalism.org/2016/07/18/candidates-differ-in-their-use-of-social-media-to-connect-with-the-public

Reflection writing
* Drawing specifically on the content of your book: Social Problems by Joel Best Chapter 5: “The Media and Claims”, and your chosen research article, discuss the following:
* A summary of the main points of Chapter 5 with regard to the media and claims, including key terms.
* A summary of the main points of your chosen research article.
* An overall discussion of what it seems we can conclude about how the media functions in relation to people’s knowledge, understanding, and perspectives about social issues (presidential campaigns or otherwise). Consider, for example, the following concerns (among others):
* How is media useful for learning about and understanding social issues? How is the media detrimental to learning and understanding?
* How is media used differently by various people/groups, and with what consequences?
* Who has more/less access to media platforms, and how does this shape the messages received by the public?