Tech Policy Press – June 15, 2023
Twitter Plunges on Annual Scoring of LGBTQ Safety on Social Media
For the third year, the LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD has released a Social Media Safety Index (SMSI) that finds that major tech platforms are failing to keep LGBTQ+ users safe. The report was released at a time when the broader social and political context continues to grow more dangerous- in the US, more than 75 anti-LGBTQ bills were signed into law in state legislatures this year, and attacks both on- and offline are on the rise.
Based on twelve indicators and a methodology designed in partnership with the nonprofit group Ranking Digital Rights and Goodwin Simon Strategic Research Group, the SMSI assigns social media companies a score based on its performance against the indicators.
Mashable – June 15, 2023
Twitter is the most dangerous social platform for LGBTQ users, according to 2023 GLAAD report
The index looks at 12 different indicators, including internal and explicit safety policies, in-house diversity, inclusive site options, and the prohibiting of anti-LGBTQ advertisers, and then issues each platform its own SMSI Scorecard rating in collaboration with Goodwin Simon Strategic Research and tech accountability group Ranking Digital Rights. As GLAAD(opens in a new tab) explains, it is “the industry’s first standard for tackling online anti-LGBTQ hate and increasing safety for LGBTQ social media users.”
The Advocate – June 15, 2023
Social Media (Except Twitter) Improves LGBTQ+ Safety, More Steps Needed: GLAAD
GLAAD created the SMSI Platform Scorecard in partnership with Goodwin Simon Strategic Research and the tech accountability organization Ranking Digital Rights. The scorecard evaluates LGBTQ+ safety, privacy, and expression on the five major platforms based on 12 LGBTQ-specific indicators, including explicit protections from hate and harassment, offering gender pronoun options on profiles, and prohibiting advertising that could be harmful and/or discriminatory to LGBTQ+ people.
Instagram had a score of 63 percent on the latest index, up 15 points from 2022. Facebook also had a 15-point improvement, to 61 percent. TikTok was up 14 points, to 57 percent. YouTube improved by nine points, to 54 percent. Twitter, acquired by Elon Musk last fall, was down 12 points from 2022, to 33 percent.
Nieman Journalism Lab – December 15, 2022
Unlocking the silent demand for international journalism (Op Ed)
At Global Press, we invest in producing high-quality international coverage, employing local reporters across nearly forty news bureaus, from Mongolia to Zimbabwe. And now we can prove that readers of international news in the United States demand a higher standard of international journalism. In the new year, we’ll publish the results of our yearlong U.S. audience research study, conducted with our partners Goodwin Simon Strategic Research, an independent public opinion research firm, and Wonder: Strategies for Good, experts in analyzing public opinion research. But the results are so important that I’m going to share a sneak preview here before 2022 is out…
Marketing-Interactive – July 18, 2022
Study: Are social media giants protecting LGBTQ communities enough?
Social media players can do a lot more to make their platforms safer for the LGBTQ community, said a recent report by GLAAD. GLAAD’s annual Social Media Safety Index analyses LGBTQ users’ safety on social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
The report found that all the platforms scored under 50 out of a potential 100 with TikTok having the lowest score. The platform scorecard was developed with Ranking Digital Rights, a US based company with expertise in ranking tech firms on human rights issues, and independent public opinion research firm Goodwin Simon Strategic Research.
[ Full Article]
Tech Policy Press – July 17, 2022
The Sunday Show: Scoring Social Media Platforms on LGBTQ Safety Issues (Podcast)
For the second year running, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation – GLAAD – has released a Social Media Safety Index that finds that major tech platforms are failing to keep LGBTQ users safe. The report was released at a time when the broader social and political context is growing more dangerous- in the US, nearly 250+ anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in legislatures this year, even as we see a surge of online hate speech and disinformation about the LGBTQ community, as well as physical attacks.
To learn more about the challenges this community faces in holding social media platforms to account, I spoke to two people who helped author the report and devise the index: Jenni Olsen, Senior Director of Social Media Safety at GLAAD, and Andrea Hackl, a research analyst at Goodwin Simon Strategic Research.
Mashable – July 14, 2022
Social media giants aren’t protecting LGBTQ users enough, GLAAD says
GLAAD uses what’s called a “platform scorecard” for each company, developed with Ranking Digital Rights (a U.S. company that ranks tech companies on human rights) and Goodwin Simon Strategic Research (an independent public opinion research firm). The score is the total of 12 LGBTQ-specific factors, including whether the platform has an explicit policy against hate speech and harassment, whether you can add your pronouns to your profile, and whether the platform prohibits ads that could be harmful to (or specifically target) LGBTQ people.
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok all scored lower than 50 out of 100 points. TikTok scored the lowest with a score of 43, followed by YouTube and Twitter with 45, Facebook at 46, and Instagram at 48.
[ Full Article]
Forbes – July 13, 2022
Report: These 5 Social Media Platforms Fail To Keep LGBTQ+ Users Safe
A new report says those five major social media apps have each received a failing grade, like an “F” on a report card. They all fell short of 50 points out of 100 in a measurement of a dozen indicators of best practices and safety guidelines for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer users. To use a sports analogy, each one ranked below .500 on a new LGBTQ+ scorecard of social media safety. The group keeping score is GLAAD, the world’s leading LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization, which on Wednesday issued its second annual Social Media Safety Index.
In its report, GLAAD explained that its own scorecard started with the Ranking Digital Rights Big Tech Scorecard, the annual evaluation of the world’s most powerful digital platforms, reviewing their policies and practices affecting people’s rights to freedom of expression and privacy. GLAAD then worked with the Goodwin Simon Strategic Research team, as well as its own expert stakeholders and advisors, to revise and refine those 12 indicators.
[ Full Article]
Variety – July 13, 2022
40% of LGBTQ Adults Do Not Feel Safe on Social Media, GLAAD Survey Finds
About 40% of all LGBTQ adults — and 49% of transgender and nonbinary people — do not feel welcomed and safe on social media, according to newly released findings from a May 2022 survey GLAAD conducted with Community Marketing & Insights. Overall, 84% of LGBTQ adults agree there are not enough protections on social media to prevent discrimination, harassment or disinformation.
The 2022 Social Media Safety Index’s Platform Scorecard was developed by GLAAD in partnership with Ranking Digital Rights and Goodwin Simon Strategic Research.
[ Full Article]
Los Angeles Times – June 8, 2021
Some Black parents see less bullying, racism with online learning and are keeping kids home
Participants were recruited by Facebook ads that targeted parents who lived in L.A. and were screened to exclude those who did not identify as LAUSD parents. The survey was conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research and has a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points for the entire survey, the report said.
“Black parents were able to see how their children were treated by their peers and instructors while kids learned at home, and in some cases, saw a system that did not benefit them,” the report said. “Many of the same parents who saw that their children seemed to learn better and thrive emotionally away from school now question whether it is in their child’s best interest to return to campus.”
[ Full Article]
Sierra Sun Times – November 16, 2020
New California Health Care Foundation Survey Finds Health Care Providers Struggle with Burnout, ‘Emotionally Drained’ Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
California health care providers are experiencing significant emotional and mental impacts from caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, with between half and two-thirds of doctors, nurses, and other health care providers saying they feel emotionally drained, frustrated, overworked, and burned out — and are struggling to balance work and family, according to a survey conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research on behalf of the California Health Care Foundation.
Here’s a link to the discussion if you’d like to share with your networks.
[ Full Article]
Raben Respite: Live – August 20, 2020
Messaging Makes a Movement
Amy Simon, GSSR partner, joins Dr. Matt A. Barreto of Latino Decisions and Henry Fernandez of the African American Research Collaborative for a lively discussion on Messaging Makes a Movement, hosted by Erika West of The Raben Group. This trio of pollsters discusses the ways in which effective messaging is critical to any successful movement, as well as messaging and movements that help persuade and mobilize towards a more just and equitable nation.
Here’s a link to the discussion if you’d like to share with your networks.
[ Full Article]
CMS Wire – July 1, 2020
Facebook Files Against Scrapers, California Set To Extend Digital Privacy
Citing a recent poll by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research Californians are overwhelmingly supportive of being in control of their most sensitive personal information, and they also want control over how their children’s data is used. In fact, according to the pool 88% would support a ballot measure expanding privacy protections for personal information…
[ Full Article]
Santa Monica Lookout – June 19, 2020
COVID-19 Impacts, Homelessness Top List of Voter Funding Priorities
Along with reducing homelessness, helping the City cope with the economic and health impacts of COVID-19 are the top funding priorities for local voters, according to a poll for the City taken last month. The poll of 562 Santa Monica voters was conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research between May 26 and May 31 to gauge support for a luxury real estate transfer tax the City Council voted to place on the November ballot at its meeting June 9. The proposed ballot measure would double the real estate transfer tax on sales exceeding $5 million from $3 to $6 per $1,000…
[ Full Article]
American Meteorological Society – January 30, 2020
Localized climate reporting by TV weathercasters enhances public understanding of climate change as a local problem: Evidence from a randomized controlled experiment
Working with Climate Central and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, GSSR sought to effectively position television meteorologists as trusted and credible messengers who can use their role as weather educators to explain how extreme weather events are connected to climate change in simple-to-understand terms. To that end, GSSR filmed local meteorologists John Morales in Miami and Tammie Souza in Chicago and produced test videos to increase respondents’ understanding of, and concern about, climate change. Each test video’s script and images were carefully crafted and selected based on findings from extensive qualitative research conducted prior to the survey.
[ Full Article]
Community Development Innovation Review – October 17, 2019
Building on Shared Values to Engage with Mainers on Climate Change
In a politically divided era in Maine, where progress to address climate change had stalled, Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI), a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and community development corporation, sought to create a pathway for action with a mission for expanding good jobs, advancing environmentally sustainable enterprises, and growing shared prosperity. In collaboration with the Maine Climate Table (MCT), a group of concerned organizations and individuals, and the opinion research firm Goodwin Simon Strategic Research (GSSR), CEI undertook a deep analysis of climate change perceptions in order to meet Mainers where they are on the challenges ahead…
[ Full Article]
San Francisco Chronicle – April 4, 2019
Do voters want San Francisco to buy PG&E’s infrastructure? It seems most do
A majority of San Francisco residents queried in a recent poll say they’d support a city takeover of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. infrastructure — a proposal that’s being seriously considered since the utility company’s bankruptcy.
The poll, conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research, asked 435 registered voters a range of questions about PG&E and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission…
[ Full Article ]
Santa Monica Lookout – July 30, 2018
Santa Monica-Malibu School Board Votes to Place Record Bonds on the Ballot
A recent poll of Santa Monica voters found that a $485 million bond “seems likely to pass with initial support at 66 percent,” according to the findings of Goodwin Simon Strategic Research.
A poll of voters in Malibu found that a $250 million bond for Malibu schools would fail, but that a $150 million bond would win the necessary support…
[ Full Article ]
The Malibu Times – July 26, 2018
Separate School Bonds to Appear on November Ballot
Representatives from Goodwin Simon Strategic Research first presented the facilities improvement bond to the school board in early May. A total of 90 Malibu people were polled for their survey. At the time, Malibu support was put at 62 percent when the original $250 million bond was lowered to $150 million…
[ Full Article ]
San Francisco Chronicle – July 15, 2018
California Dems trying to flip the House aren’t running on abortion rights
Democrats “shouldn’t shy away” from the abortion issue, said John Whaley, a senior research director with the Goodwin Simon Strategic Research firm, which polls mainly for Democratic candidates and causes.
“There are ways to talk about abortion and other reproductive health issues that really resonate for people in the middle,” Whaley said. He said Democrats can cast abortion rights as part of a larger economic narrative, pointing out that abortion restrictions in other states tend to affect poor women more than others.
In California, where there is greater protection for abortion access than in many other states, Whaley said polling shows there is more agreement on the issue than people realize.
“You don’t have to make it a red-meat issue here,” he said.
[ Full Article ]
Politico Morning Defense – July 3, 2018
Engaged Voters Strongly Support Diplomacy with Pyongyang
Engaged U.S. voters strongly support diplomacy with North Korea, according to a confidential polling memo provided to POLITICO.
The memo, drafted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research, detailed findings from a nationwide focus group conducted immediately after President Donald Trump’s June summit with Kim Jong Un.
Among its findings, most participants have more confidence in using diplomatic negotiations, rather than military force, to resolve the situation with North Korea. [ Full Article ]
ABA Journal – June 21, 2018
Educating the community about judicial independence can help preserve it
The Piper Fund contracted Goodwin Simon Strategic Research to identify effective messages promoting judicial independence, with specific emphasis on state supreme courts. Focus groups consisting of people from four states, who were not members of the legal community, met for four days to discuss judicial independence… [ Full Article ]
Medium – December 10, 2017
Hope Not Fear: A New Model for Communicating Human Rights
Genius communicators Robert Perez and Amy Simon have written in detail about applying neuroscience to cause campaigns. They talk about getting people away from the “downstairs brain” — the primordial ‘fight or flight’ instincts — and into the “upstairs brain” where they can feel empathy for others… [ Full Article ]
The Wall Street Transcript – January 16, 2017
New Poll: Oroville Voters Overwhelmingly Opposed to Proposed Eminent Domain Takeover of Local Water Company
Voters in Oroville are overwhelmingly opposed to a proposal to use eminent domain to take over the local water company, California Water Service (Cal Water), according to a new citywide public opinion survey conducted by Goodwin Simon Research and released today by Cal Water… [ Full Article ]
Santa Monica Lookout – March 3, 2016
Bi-Annual Survey To Query Residents on Travel Modes
The City wants to know how you get around town. Santa Monica officials hope to get a better picture of what modes of transportation residents use to get about the City, and will pay a research firm an extra $69,000 to find out.
Culver City-based Goodwin Simon Strategic Research, which was brought on board in July to conduct Santa Monica’s bi-annual Citywide Resident Satisfaction Survey, will now broaden the scope of the survey to include a mobility component, said a staff report. … [ Full Article ]
Bangor Daily News – April 7, 2015
No need to change Maine’s gun safety tradition
More than half the Legislature has signed on to a bill that would allow the concealed carry of guns without a permit. These lawmakers should check with gun owners and law-enforcement officials.
A recent poll, conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research on behalf of Everytown for Gun Safety and Maine Moms Demand Action, both of which support stricter gun laws, found that 84 percent of Maine voters — including nine out of 10 gun owners — believe that a permit should be required to carry a concealed weapon in public… [ Full Article ]
LA School Report – January 12, 2015
Survey: Teachers support changes in state job protection laws
The majority of public school teachers who participated in a new survey support changes in state teacher job protection laws that were the focus of last year’s landmark ruling in Vergara v. California.
The findings were somewhat of a surprise in that the poll, conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research for Teach Plus, a national nonprofit that focuses on professional development for teachers, sought responses from only full-time district public school teachers, omitting charter school teachers, private school teachers and part-time teachers… [ Full Article ]
PR Newswire – October 1, 2014
California Voters Express Strong Support for Death-with-Dignity Option
Nearly two-thirds of Californian voters would support a death-with-dignity measure that would give a mentally competent, terminally ill adult the right to request and receive a prescription for life-ending medication from a physician, a poll released today reveals. This medical practice is called aid in dying.
“We know that Californians overwhelmingly support death with dignity because we hear from them every day,” said Toni Broaddus, California Campaign Director for Compassion & Choices, the nation’s leading end-of-life choice advocacy organization. [ Full Article ]
Advocate.com – February 19, 2013
Poll: Marriage Equality Is Imminent
Three-quarters of voters say that the right to marriage is a constitutional right, and 83% say they believe marriage equality will become legal in the U.S. within the next decade… [ Full Article ]
The Atlantic – December 11, 2012
The Marriage Plot: Inside This Year’s Epic Campaign for Gay Equality
On May 9, President Obama sat for an interview in the White House with the ABC News anchor Robin Roberts. Both of them knew what she’d been summoned there to discuss, and Roberts didn’t waste any time. “So, Mr. President,” she said, “are you still opposed to same-sex marriage?” [ Full Article ]
The New York Times – November 12, 2012
Push Expands for Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage
Elated by their first ballot victories, in four states, advocates of same-sex marriage rights plan to push legislatures in half a dozen more states toward legalization as they also press their cause in federal courts. They are also preparing for what they hope will be another milestone: the electoral reversal of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and a woman, in Oregon in 2014. [ Full Article ]
The New York Times – October 18, 2012
Maine’s Marriage Hero
The campaign for marriage equality has drawn support from prominent politicians, professional athletes, top-tier actors and hit-making singers. Some have even lent their faces and voices to advertisements. But the marquee pitchman for an Election Day referendum to legalize same-sex marriage in Maine isn’t a conventional celebrity. He’s a former hearse driver and postal carrier. Who is 90-years old. [ Full Article ]
The Burbank Leader – March 17, 2012
Bob Hope poll findings boost terminal proponents
By a margin of roughly 2 to 1, residents in the tri-city region favor a new terminal at Bob Hope Airport, according to a recent poll. The poll also revealed a major knowledge gap about just how old the existing facility is.
The survey, conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research mid-February, found that among those polled in Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena and portions of Los Angeles near the airfield, 67% favored a replacement terminal that was further from the runway… [ Full Article ]
San Francisco Chronicle – July 8, 2011
Same-Sex Marriage Backers Seek Obama Endorsement
Oakland pollster Amy Simon, who has polled nationally on LGBT issues, said there’s “no way” that marriage is a tiebreaker issue.”There’s no inherent risk in Obama coming out on marriage,” she said. “The risk is in how he does it.”
Polls show that many Americans’ views on marriage are evolving just like Obama’s. If the president approaches the issue through his Christian faith, Simon said, “and he’s authentic about it, then he will have credibility on the issue. A lot of people are feeling the same way.” [ Full Article ]