While other talk show hosts in the US are confronting the nation's political issues, The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon is avoiding touchy subject matter. But politically disenfranchised Americans are counting on pop culture to represent their views, and it's costing apolitical entertainers their audiences.

The NRA’s latest advert is a call to arms that pits gun-toting Americans against those supposedly destroying their nation – but keeps this group unnamed. By leaving the aggressors anonymous, the NRA is playing off a polarised society that can find enemies in anything.

From politicians to vloggers, digitally captured faux pas have become the fodder of much debate across media. But what makes cringe-worthy moments – which inspire feelings of embarrassment, awkwardness, and even pity – so captivating amid the stream of content fighting for our attention?

Brazilians are not unfamiliar with national crises, but amid rising crime, high unemployment, a series of political scandals, and a recession fresh in people’s memories, things are taking a heavy toll on the population. How are they reacting to the difficulties? And how do they see the future?