Nearly Half of Americans Believe in Creationism

A whopping 42 percent of Americans continue to believe God created human beings in their present form 10,000 years ago; a Russian oligarch is trying to eliminate the “satanic gay lobby” from Europe; meanwhile, a new Ukrainian website is trying to point out fake photos online. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

Hilarious Video: Daily Show’s Samantha Bee Tackles Epidemic of Anti-Vaxxer Idiocy Samantha Bee took on the pernicious effects of right-wing science denialism Monday night on “The Daily Show,” specifically vaccine denialism.

In U.S., 42% Believe Creationist View of Human Origins More than four in 10 Americans continue to believe that God created humans in their present form 10,000 years ago, a view that has changed little over the past three decades.

Secret ‘Anti-Gay’ Meeting Held by Russian Oligarch with Top Politicians in Vienna A secret meeting discussing ways to rid Europe of the ‘satanic gay lobby’ was hosted by a Russian oligarch and attended by a host of far-right MPs and ultra-conservative Eurasian ideologists in Vienna at the weekend – just across the road from where the Life Ball was taking place the very same night.

Stiglitz, Inequality, and Politics After learning that Joseph Stiglitz had been invited to give a lecture on inequality at the University of Oxford, I asked my friend Stephen Whitefield, Professor of Politics, University Lecturer in Politics, and Rhodes Pelczynski Tutorial Fellow in Politics, Pembroke College, to offer his sense of Stiglitz’s lecture.

The Real Reason Apple Wants You to Talk to Your House Apple’s foray into “the Internet of Things” is less about the things, and more about the Internet.

A Ukrainian Factchecking Site Is Trying to Spot Fake Photos in Social Media — and Building Audience Barely 90 days after launch, StopFake is reaching 1.5 million unique visitors a month and bringing social media verification to a conflict being fought both on land and online.

Noam Chomsky: A Surveillance State Beyond Imagination Is Being Created in One of the World’s Freest Countries In the past several months, we have been provided with instructive lessons on the nature of state power and the forces that drive state policy.

International Kowtowing To Israel Must End Now The Americans and Europeans have tried being the voice of reason and failed. Now they must speak to Israel in the language it understands best (hint: it’s not Hebrew.)

Rankings Noise What would it take for a well-regarded institution — such as the University of Rochester, and a few dozen more like it — to be among U.S. News & World Report’s top 20 national universities?