Interest Groups & Lobbying
The primary goal of an interest group is to influence this and government decisions.
What is public policy?
This type of organization pools campaign contributions from members and donates them to political campaigns or ballot initiatives.
What is a Political Action Committee (PAC)?
By definition, a Non-Governmental Organization operates independently of any of these.
What is a government?
This term refers to deliberately false or misleading information presented as actual news.
What is "fake news"?
In a two-party system, voter choice is limited to two major candidates, which can end up alienating voters with these.
What are different (or third-party) viewpoints?
This act is best described as attempting to influence decisions made by government officials.
What is lobbying?
A major criticism of PACs is that they can give special access and influence to these wealthy political actors.
What are wealthy donors (or corporations)?
Advocating for environmental or these types of causes is a primary function of many NGOs.
What are social causes?
Media bias is the tendency of news organizations to present information in a way that favors a particular viewpoint or this.
What is an agenda?
Electoral systems with these types of elections—where the candidate with the most votes wins full representation—tend to reinforce a two-party system.
What are winner-take-all elections?
Interest groups typically gain access to policymakers through campaign donations, providing expert information, and this practice.
What is lobbying?
When an interest group attempts to shape public opinion through media campaigns and advertising, it is engaging in issue advocacy or this two-word term.
What are public relations?
Unlike government agencies, NGOs rely on this sector of society to organize voluntary community action.
What is civil society?
Traditional media influences elections primarily by framing issues and doing this to determine which topics receive public focus.
What is agenda setting?
This term describes the rise in political polarization that occurs when candidates are forced to appeal away from moderate voices.
What is ideological polarization?
When an interest group appeals directly to the general public to contact their elected officials regarding an issue, they are engaging in this type of lobbying.
What is grassroots lobbying?
Critics argue that PACs give undue influence in politics to wealthy individuals as well as these business entities.
What are corporations?
When an NGO monitors government actions to prevent corruption and protect civil liberties, it is serving in this role.
What is a watchdog?
When the media presents an issue in a specific way that shapes how people evaluate it, they are engaged in this technique.
What is framing?
Social media has transformed campaign communication by allowing rapid information delivery and this type of voter outreach.
What is direct (or targeted) messaging?
While interest groups use public relations and issue advocacy, doing this directly is NOT a method they commonly use.
What is administering government programs?
Campaign donations given by PACs are primarily used by interest groups to secure this crucial advantage with policymakers.
What is access?
NGOs often step in to provide food or shelter when government programs fall short, performing this direct civil function.
What is service delivery (or relief)?
A major criticism of social media algorithms during elections is that they reinforce existing beliefs by creating filter bubbles and these closed spaces.
What are echo chambers?
This "phenomenon" occurs when voters avoid supporting a third-party candidate they prefer because they feel that candidate is unlikely to win.
What is the "wasted vote" phenomenon?