Democracy • Digital Rights • Elections • Global • Legal
Shattered by a perfect storm: How Trump’s cuts are crippling journalism beyond the United States
Gretel Kahn, Marina Adami, Eduardo Suárez
Reuters Institute
Before Trump’s inauguration, the US government supported independent journalism in more than 30 countries. Most of this funding was channelled through USAID. According to a USAID factsheet recently mentioned by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and now taken offline, the agency funded training and support for 6,200 journalists and assisted 707 outlets.
Democracy • Disinformation • Elections • Europe • Global
Russian Interference: Coming Soon to an Election Near You
Oana Popescu-Zamfir
carnegieendowment
Russia pursues a systematic strategy of undermining elections and influencing public opinion in the West. EU and NATO countries must recognize that Moscow often acts through agents within their own borders, and build resilience to such interference.
Analysis • Democracy • Digital Rights • Elections • Legal
The MAGA Assault on the Media Is Picking Up Steam
CHRIS LEHMANN
The Nation
Trump’s courts-based intimidation campaign against the press descends from handiwork of one of his most prominent Silicon Valley backers, venture capitalist and neo-reactionary ghoul Peter Thiel.
Analysis • Democracy • Digital Rights • Elections • Legal
Capitulation is Contagious
Adrienne LaFrance
The Atlantic
The brave few who stood up to the magnates of the Gilded Age came to mind this month, when Ann Telnaes, a Washington Post cartoonist, resigned over the paper’s refusal to publish a cartoon in which she skewered today’s titans of industry—Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Post, among them.
Analysis • Democracy • Digital Rights • Disinformation • Elections • Technology
Liberals Are Left Out in the Cold as Social Media Veers Right
Sheera Frenkel
New York Times
Hundreds of thousands of posts lauding Mr. Trump’s victory filled Truth Social, the social platform that the president-elect owns. Speculation about what the new administration would accomplish ran rampant on X, which is owned by Elon Musk. Gab, Parler and other right-wing social media sites were flooded with thousands of memes glorifying Mr. Trump.