As the U.S. copes with multiple crises, partisans disagree sharply on severity of problems facing the nation

Democrats are generally far more likely than Republicans to view several concerns – including how racial and ethnic minorities are treated by the criminal justice system, the coronavirus outbreak and unemployment – as very big problems in the country. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say illegal immigration is a very big problem.

• See all of our coronavirus research

How Congress uses Facebook and Twitter

The congressional social media landscape has undergone vast changes in recent years. Compared with a similar time period in 2016, the typical member of Congress now tweets nearly twice as often, has nearly three times as many followers and receives more than six times as many retweets on an average post. On Facebook, the typical member produces 48% more posts and has increased their total number of followers by half.

• Posts mentioning ‘Black lives matter’ spiked on lawmakers’ social media accounts after George Floyd killing

How Trump compares with other recent presidents in appointing federal judges

President Donald Trump has made big changes to the federal judiciary since taking office in 2017. He has now appointed almost a quarter of all active federal judges in the United States, including more appeals court judges than any other recent president. A quarter of Trump’s judicial appointees are women, and just 15% are of a race or ethnicity other than white.

Activism on social media varies by race and ethnicity, age, political party

About one-third of social media users say they have used these sites in the past month to post a picture to show their support for a cause, look up information about rallies or protests happening in their area or encourage others to take action on issues they regard as important. But experiences and attitudes vary by race and ethnicity, age and party.

8 facts about religion and government in the United States

Most Americans support gender equality, even if they don’t identify as feminists

Key facts about digital-native news outlets amid staff cuts, revenue losses

From our research