Animal friendships resemble our human friendships more than you might think. True, some look pretty wild, like white-faced capuchins who greet their best buds by sticking their fingers in each other’s eye sockets, or male Guinea baboons that test their bonds by fondling each other’s genitals. But the meaning behind these behaviours isn’t so different from how we tease and interact with our best pal. Furthermore, animals do connect with others of the same group or age. Scientists call this “homophily”. This preference for similarity increases the trust of a friend. Indeed, animal friendships aren’t far from our own.H Read full article here
Research
Improving media literacy could boost trust towards the news, IMPRESS report suggests
The UK media is regulated by the likes of IPSO and Ofcom. The report by press regulator IMPRESS highlights the link between low levels of media literacy and trust in the news. The study found that three quarters of those who did not know if journalists were regulated did not trust the news. It suggests that improving media literacy is one way to stem the erosion of trust, and shows that audiences have an appetite for information on news processes. Stakeholders need to collaborate in order to rebuild trust in the news, and independent media is well placed to do this. Read full article here
Merv
February 1, 2023
