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From the Pew News IQ survey, on partisan differences in knowledge of current events:

Across the 12 knowledge items tested, the biggest gap between Democrats and Republicans comes over awareness of the current level of the Dow.

That’s a shocker, isn’t it?

In fairness, Pew reports that Republicans, men, old people, college graduates, and the upper middle class are more knowledgable in general than Democrats, women, young people, high school dropouts, and poor people.  So it’s not just the Dow.  But lest you get too impressed with the overall scores on this multiple choice survey, Steve Benen points out that “the same Pew Research Center report found that 11% of Americans still think President Obama is a Muslim, which is practically unchanged since the presidential campaign. About one-fifth of all white evangelical Protestants continue to buy into this obvious falsehood.”

Take the test here if you dare.  I expect all my readers to score 100%.

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What’s independent journalism worth to you?

Our news will always be free to read, watch, and listen to online. But what is its value?

Unbiased reporting on the issues that billionaire-owned newsrooms won’t touch. Fearless research into the dark corners of government and corporations. Ferociously fact-checked news that focuses on the facts, and the facts alone.

It IS free for you and every reader, viewer, and listener to utilize. But it’s not free for our team to make. So, what’s it worth to you? Let us know by making a donation: Make a one-time donation today to support this work. Or make a monthly sustaining donation to help us plan for the future.

Whatever you choose, know that you’re supporting more independent, investigative journalism in a time when we need it most.

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