Month: October 2020

News broke overnight that President Trump and the first lady tested positive for the coronavirus. The White House says they have mild symptoms.

Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, calls the diagnosis “a nightmare.”

NPR’s Rob Schmitz reports on reaction abroad.

John Fortier spoke to NPR about what could happen if the president gets sicker. Fortier is the former executive director of the Continuity of Government Commission, a group set up in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

For more on this story, follow our NPR politics team on their podcast and listen to Up First Saturday morning for the latest.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

We’re working on an upcoming episode about pandemic precautions, and we want to hear from you. Fill out the form on this page and we may follow up on your response.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Facebook and Twitter have plans for an election season rife with disinformation on their platforms.

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg explains what lessons the company learned from 2016 and what they’re doing differently this time. She spoke to NPR’s Audie Cornish about that, and about the burden of work falling on women during the pandemic. Hear more of their conversation here.

Critics say the social media giants are too large to realistically enforce their own policies.

NPR’s Life Kit has a guide to voting by mail or in-person this election season.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

We’re working on an upcoming episode about pandemic precautions and we want to hear from you. Fill out the form on this page and we may follow up on your response.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

President Trump used Tuesday night’s debate to attack the integrity of the upcoming election with false claims about voter fraud and mail-in ballots. National security officials say claims like those are being amplified on social media by foreign countries — including Russia — and by bad actors in the U.S.

NPR’s Shannon Bond and Greg Myre report on how government officials and tech companies are handling that disinformation.

And NPR’s Pam Fessler explains why the President’s false claims about voter fraud have election experts worried about conflicts at the polls.

NPR’s Life Kit has a guide to voting by mail or in-person this election season.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

We’re working on an upcoming episode about pandemic precautions and we want to hear from you. Fill out the form on this page and we may follow up on your response.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.