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JENNIFER: IN RECENT YEARS, SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BEEN A MAJOR INFLUENCE ON VOTERS IN BOTH PARTIES. JOINING US, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AT LOYOLA, DR. DOUG HARRIS. THANKS FOR JOINING US. >> THANKS FOR HAVING ME. JENNIFER: LET'S TALK ABOUT THE ROLE THAT SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYS IN THE ELECTION. >> SURE. YOU KNOW, SCHOLARS KNOW THAT SOCIAL MEDIA CAN BE IMPACTFUL, FOR TWO REASONS. ONE, AN INCREASING NUMBER OF CITIZENS ARE GETTING NEWS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA THAN IN PAST YEARS. IT'S ALSO THE CASE THAT BECAUSE SOCIAL MEDIA HAS THE SOCIAL ASPECT AND IT'S REFED TO US BY A FRIEND OR SOMEBODY WE KNOW, WE'RE MORE LIKELY TO BELIEVE IT. SO IN SOME RESPECTS, WE HAVE A SITUATION IN WHICH THE QUALITY OF THE INFORMATION MIGHT BE CONSIDERABLY LOWER, BUT THE CREDIBILITY THAT WE GIVE IT IS DISTURBINGLY HIGHER. JENNIFER: AS A PROFESSOR, HOW DO YOU FIGHT THAT WITH YOUR STUDENTS, TRYING TO SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION AND GETTING THE INFORMATION FROM FRIENDS AND FAMILY? >> YEAH, I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT I DO BECAUSE LOYOLA IS A LIBERAL ARTS UNIVERSITY, WE'RE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT CRITICAL JUDGMENT AND CRITICAL LEARNING. WE WANT TO BRING OURSELVES AND OUR OWN THINKING TO THE INFORMATION WE GET, EVALUATING THE QUALITY, AND I THINK ALSO TRYING TO INSTILL IN STUDENTS THIS IDEA THAT CITIZENS HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES. THE RESPONSIBILITY IS NOT ONLY TO EVALUATE THE INFORMATION WE GET, BUT WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY IN TERMS OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE REFER TO OTHERS OR PUSH TO OTHERS VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. JENNIFER: THE ELECTION NOW JUST A LITTLE MORE THAN A WEEK AWAY. SO WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WITH SO LITTLE TIME LEFT BEFORE VOTERS CAST THEIR BALLOTS? >> YEAH, I MEAN, I'VE BEEN STRUCK BY THIS ELECTION BECAUSE IN A LOT OF WAYS, THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST UNSTABLE TIMES IN OUR LIVES, RIGHT? KOOLTS, THE ECONOMY, OUR FAMILIES ARE DISRUPTED. THIS HAS BEEN A STABLE ELECTION. JANUARY 1, JOE BIDEN HAD A FIVE-POINT LEAD IN THE POLLING. THAT'S VACILLATED BETWEEN 5 AND 10 SINCE BUT HAS BEEN A REMARKABLY STABLE ELECTION IN TERMS OF DESPITE ALL OF THESE DISRUPTIONS, BIDEN HAS HAD A SIGNIFICANT LEAD THROUGHOUT AND THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN TRYING DIFFERENT STRATEGIES TO CHANGE THE TRAJECTORY OF THE RACE. AS I'VE BEEN SAYING FOR ABOUT A MONTH NOW IN MY CLASSES, HE'S RUNNING OUT OF TIME. HE'S RUNNING OUT OF OPPORTUNITIES. THERE'S A WEEK LEFT AND ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN, AND THE RACE SHOULD TIGHTEN IN THE LAST WEEK AS THE LAST UNDECIDED VOTERS MAKE DECISIONS. I THINK SOMETHING DRAMATIC HAS TO HAPPEN NATIONALLY FOR THIS RACE TO TAKE ON A TRA JEKRY IT HASN'T HAD SINCE THE GOOD EVENING. JENNIFER: YOU NEVER KNOW. IF YOU LOOK BACK AT THE LAST ELECTION, HILARY CLINTON WAGS AHEAD IN THE POLLS AS WELL. AS A PROFESSOR, LOOKING BACK AT THE PAST ELECTION AND FIGURING OUT WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT, YOU HAVE A LOT TO IMPART TO YOUR STUDENTS.