Texas Standard For November 5, 2020

According to a survey of Texans interested in the news, a majority say they now have grave questions about the usefulness of polling. We’ll try to get some questions answered. And: Is there a Speaker in the House? Very soon there’ll be a new one. Ross Ramsey of the Texas Tribune on the growing line of lawmakers seeking the top job in Texas’ lower chamber. Also: Anti-social media? The role of Twitter, Facebook and the rest in the information wars leading up to the election. Plus: As COVID cases spike again in parts of Texas, a would-be hero emerges from the Alamo city: a virus-killing robot. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

By Texas StandardNovember 5, 2020 9:30 am

Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Thursday, November 5, 2020. Listen on your Texas public radio station, or ask your smart speaker to play Texas Standard. We’ll have full posts for each story, including audio, a little later today.

Texas House Speaker Race

After Tuesday’s election results, we’re also getting a clearer picture of who the next Texas House Speaker could be, replacing Republican state Rep. Dennis Bonnen. Ross Ramsey, executive editor of The Texas Tribune, talks to the Standard.

Did We Learn about Polling

A major question on everyone’s mind right now is this: What happened to polling? For many, it seems that for the second presidential election in a row, the pollsters were wrong. So what does this mean going forward? Joshua Blank, manager of polling and research at the Texas Politics Project, talks to the Standard.

Social Platforms and Misleading Election Info

In 2016, Facebook drew sharp criticism for allowing fake news to spread on its platforms. Officials for Facebook and Twitter have repeatedly said they’re going to clamp down on news coming from questionable sources. Facebook has banned some accounts, and since this week’s election, Twitter has labeled tweets from President Trump and members of his inner-circle as inaccurate. Still, both platforms have been criticized for not doing enough – and for doing too much. Tech expert Omar Gallaga talks to the Standard about the way platforms address fake news, and how it’s evolved.

A San Antonio Company’s Virus-Killing Robot

As COVID-19 cases continue to skyrocket in El Paso, business is booming for one San Antonio company. It builds a robot that kills the virus that causes COVID-19 in the air and on surfaces with a burst of UV light. Texas Public Radio’s Brian Kirkpatrick reports the Xenex Light Strike Robot was first sold to hospitals, but it’s finding a broader customer base as a pandemic continues to grip the nation and world.

The Sounds of Texas: Dark was the Night

GunPlay Podcast

During this November election, arguments over the Second Amendment were not front and center. But opinions on guns and access to them are still issues voters hold strong. Some of the loudest voices on guns of late have been some of the youngest. They are featured in a new podcast called “Gun Play.” It’s created and hosted by Jerome Weeks and Hady Mawajdeh from our partner station KERA North Texas.

 PolitiFact: Ted Cruz National Debt Claim

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz recently said that President Donald Trump did not campaign on cutting the national deficit – but is that a fact? Vetting the claim is Brandon Mulder with PolitiFact Texas, based at the Austin American-Statesman.

All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.

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