<li class="row article-list__row">
  <%= link_to ac.article.url, :target => "_blank" do %>
  <div class="row__wrapper">
    <div class="article-list__row__title">
      <p class="title"><%= ac.article.title + (ac.new_article ? "(new)" : "") %></p>
    </div>
    <div class="article-list__row__characters">
      <p class="characters">
        <%= ac.character_sum || ac.article.character_sum %>
      </p>
    </div>
    <div class="article-list__row__views">
      <p class="views">
        <%= ac.view_count || ac.article.views || 0 %>
      </p>
    </div>
    <div class="article-list__row__link">
      <p class="fake-link">View Article</p>
    </div>
  </div>
  <% end %>
</li>
<li class="row article-list__row">
  <%= link_to ac.article.url, :target => "_blank" do %>
  <div class="row__wrapper">
    <div class="article-list__row__title">
      <p class="title"><%= ac.article.title + (ac.new_article ? " (new)" : "") %></p>
    </div>
    <div class="article-list__row__characters">
      <p class="characters">
        <%= ac.character_sum || ac.article.character_sum %>
      </p>
    </div>
    <div class="article-list__row__views">
      <p class="views">
        <%= ac.view_count || ac.article.views || 0 %>
      </p>
    </div>
    <div class="article-list__row__link">
      <p class="fake-link">View Article</p>
    </div>
  </div>
  <% end %>
</li>

Add space between article title and "(new)"
Add space between article title and "(new)"
