The past decade has seen political polarisation – accelerated by social media’s filter bubbles and echo chambers – deepen and mutate. An ominous era of a polycrisis has shattered any remaining societal consensus. Meanwhile, powerful anti-establishment voices have stepped into the void.

As political views polarize along generational and cultural lines in the US, echo chambers are inhibiting civic conversations. For Freedoms is tackling this state-by-state by creating billboards in partnership with artists, sparking public discussion ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

From Obama’s ‘Hope’ poster to Trump’s red MAGA hat, strong visual cues are capable of rousing Americans’ energy for civic engagement – for better or for worse. But just how impactful is design in shaping the minds of voters? And how is it being used in the 2018 midterm elections?

Social media algorithms provide a welcome filter against online noise, but the fact that 69% of Americans were surprised by Donald Trump’s election reveals a major downside. EscapeYourBubble aims to break down echo chambers, confronting people with opposing political views.

With America now starkly divided, many are struggling to comprehend the views they missed in the run-up to the 2016 election. PodcastS-Town, which has gained over 1.8 million subscribers, is the timely tale of a New York-based journalist seeking to understand an eccentric from Shit Town, Alabama.

The period immediately after the 2016 presidential election has seen a flurry of reports and think pieces analysing what exactly led to Donald Trump’s triumph. At the heart of these discussions is the ‘alt-right’, but who are the people behind this group? What do they believe and why do they believe it?

As swiping right has become the default in digital dating, OkCupid is reinforcing its core value of ‘substance over selfies’ with an ad campaign that reclaims the acronym DTF. By exploring the ways people get to know each other beyond the physical, it’s making a statement against hook-up culture.

Finding romance over the web can be tricky; 53% of Americans who use dating sites lie on their profiles, and women often face harassment on such platforms. Through its female-first approach and verification measures, Bumble aims to give users a safe and transparent way to meet new people.

Tinder has become synonymous with modern dating, and its new app for Apple TV is allowing people to conduct their love lives in full view of friends and family in the living room. But will people actually use it to start a potential new relationship, or just for a bit of human window shopping?