Nearly every American now says they come across news that seems inaccurate—and nearly half say they encounter it often. According to new Pew Research, 9 in 10 U.S. adults report seeing news they think is wrong at least occasionally, and 42% say it happens all the time.

On November 6, 2012, Wisconsin voters made history — and progress.

That day, Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay person ever elected to the U.S. Senate.

The Latino population in the U.S. has nearly doubled since 2000—rising from 35.3 million to 68 million in just two decades. Today, one in five Americans is Latino, making this group the second-largest racial or ethnic community in the country. And they’ve fueled more than half of all U.S. population growth since 2000.

October 30, 1735—John Adams was born
He would go on to become a founding father, the nation’s second president, and one of the loudest voices for American independence. A fierce defender of liberty, Adams helped shape a democracy built on bold ideals—but also bound by the limits of his time.

A new Pew Research Center survey shows that 7 in 10 Americans now believe the U.S. higher education system is heading in the wrong direction—up sharply from 56% in 2020.

25,000 women marched up Fifth Avenue in New York City, demanding the right to vote.

“Woke” began as a word of vigilance — and of care.
Rooted in African American Vernacular English, it originally meant being awake to injustice, especially racism and oppression. One of the earliest uses came in 1938, when blues singer Lead Belly warned listeners to “stay woke” to racial danger after singing The Scottsboro Boys.

When most people picture a scientist, they imagine a lab coat — not a farmer, electrician, or paramedic. But a new Pew Research Center survey shows Americans recognize that science lives far beyond the laboratory.

On October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony for the 200-meter race at the Mexico City Olympics, American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos bowed their heads and raised gloved fists in a silent salute for human rights. The gesture stunned the world.

Most Americans still don’t like what they see in the economy: only 26% call conditions excellent or good, while 74% say they’re fair or poor. That topline hasn’t budged much in three years—but the parties have flipped positions. 44% of Republicans now rate the economy positively (their highest since Trump’s first term), compared with just 10% of Democrats.

On October 8, 1941, Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. was born in Greenville, South Carolina. A close ally of Dr. King, Jackson led Operation Breadbasket to leverage Black consumer power for fair hiring and pay, later founding the Rainbow PUSH Coalition to advance voting rights, economic justice, and human dignity.

“Antifa” is short for “anti-fascist.” Its roots trace back to Europe in the 1920s and 1930s, when militant leftists organized to resist the rise of fascist regimes in Italy and Germany. The name resurfaced in the 1980s with punk and skinhead groups in Germany, who fought neo-Nazi violence in their streets.

Social media gives a voice to the voiceless.
Social media also makes us feel like we’re changing the world… when maybe we aren’t.

TikTok isn’t just for dance challenges anymore — it’s becoming America’s newsroom. A new Pew study finds one in five U.S. adults now regularly get news on TikTok, up from just 3% in 2020. In fact, no other social media platform Pew has studied has experienced faster growth in news consumption during that time. Among adults under 30, that share has soared to 43%. Even a quarter of 30-to-49-year-olds now use TikTok as a news source. More than half of TikTok’s users overall say they consume news there — rivaling Facebook, X, and Truth Social.

On October 2, 1869, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi — known to the world as Mahatma Gandhi — was born in India. His life became a testament to the extraordinary power of nonviolent resistance.

Americans are losing faith in the nation’s highest court. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that half of U.S. adults now view the Supreme Court unfavorably — nearly a three-decade low — while 48% hold a favorable opinion. That’s a sharp drop from 2020, when 70% of Americans said they viewed the Court positively.

On this day, September 18, we celebrate the birthday of Anna Deavere Smith — actor, playwright, professor, and a groundbreaking force in American theater.

Love it or hate it, the Internal Revenue Service has been around nearly as long as the United States itself. Its roots stretch back to the Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Revenue Act of 1862, creating the office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue and imposing the nation’s first federal income tax. The tax was meant to fund the Union’s war effort — and it worked, bringing in millions of badly needed dollars.

Pew Research Center reports that union membership has fallen dramatically over the past four decades — from 20% of American workers in 1983 to fewer than 10% in 2024. Most Americans say that decline has hurt not just workers but the country itself.

On September 11, 1789, Alexander Hamilton was appointed by George Washington as the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury.