Inundated with daily news reports about the federal government shutdown and ads on redistricting, audiences may have trouble distinguishing between information and propaganda.

Stuart Soroka, professor of both communication and political science at UCLA, focuses his research on political communication. His areas of expertise include negativity bias, misinformation and political behavior.

Asked how the government shutdown impacts public opinion, Soroka says:

"There is plenty of data suggesting declining trust in political institutions, perhaps particularly Congress. One likely consequence of the shutdown is the continued erosion in public trust. But that erosion of trust also has implications for public attitudes about government policies. If we can't trust government to do a good job, then we should have governments do less. There are reasons to believe that the politics of a shutdown moves attitudes towards the right, insofar as it suggests that less government is better than more government."

Regarding how Californians can educate themselves on Proposition 50, the referendum on redistricting on the ballot this November, Soroka comments:

"It is almost always helpful to consume news from several different sources, particularly if one of your primary sources presents arguments from a more liberal or conservative angle. This is especially true for highly partisan issues like Prop 50. Reaching an informed decision depends on our breaking out of our 'echo chambers' and considering the arguments both for and against."

Soroka's publications include "Information and Democracy: Public Policy in the News" (2022, with Christopher Wlezien); "The Increasing Viability of Good News, Cambridge Elements in Politics and Communication" (2021, with Yanna Krupnikov); and "Negativity in Democracy Politics: Causes and Consequences" (2014).