Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
​U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, sitting behind a desk, appearing for a hearing.

Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick Faces Expulsion Over Pocketing Overpayment

New Iran Strikes Jolt Hormuz and Raise Questions for the U.S.

New Iran Strikes Jolt Hormuz and Raise Questions for the U.S.

An open letter to Trump voters

An open letter to Trump voters

President Trump standing outside.

Trump Administration’s Record-Breaking Level of Personnel Turnover

A young man holding a smartphone to his ear.

A Conversation You’ve Been Putting Off?

Podcast: Regulating social media

Podcast: Regulating social media
The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumMar 30, 2022
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
See More Writings by author

There are dozens of bills in Congress that would regulate social media in some way, but this week’s Civic Genius podcast guest has another idea to throw into the mix. Paul Barrett is Deputy Director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University, and his new report recommends that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulate social media companies.

Could this proposal cut back online misinformation without running afoul of the First Amendment? Listen in to hear Barrett explain why he thinks so.

Listen now


Latest news

Rolling Back Health Equity Training Requirements in Medical Schools Harms Us All
Health

Rolling Back Health Equity Training Requirements in Medical Schools Harms Us All

An illustration of orange-colored megaphones, one megaphone in the middle is red and facing the opposite direction of the others.
Media & Technology

America's Data Crisis: Saving Trusted Facts Is Essential to Democracy

Warrantless Surveillance and TPS for Haitians
Rule of Law

Warrantless Surveillance and TPS for Haitians

Read More

Man lying in his bed, on his phone at night.

As the 2026 election approaches, doomscrolling and social media are shaping voter behavior through fear and anxiety. Learn how digital news consumption influences political decisions—and how to break the cycle for more informed voting.

Getty Images, gorodenkoff

Americans Are Doomscrolling Their Way to the Ballot Box and Only Getting Empty Promises

As the spring primary cycle ramps up, voters are deciding which candidates to elect in the November general election, but too much doomscrolling on social media is leading to uninformed — and often anxiety-based — voting. Even though online platforms and politicians may be preying on our exhaustion to further their agendas, we don’t have to fall for it this election cycle.

Doomscrolling is, unfortunately, part of daily life for many of us. It involves consuming a virtually endless amount of negative social media posts and news content, causing us to feel scared and depressed. Our brains have a hardwired negativity bias that causes us to notice potential threats and focus on them. This is exacerbated by the fact that people who closely follow or participate in politics are more likely to doomscroll.

Keep ReadingShow less
The robot arm is assembling the word AI, Artificial Intelligence. 3D illustration

AI has the potential to transform education, mental health, and accessibility—but only if society actively shapes its use. Explore how community-driven norms, better data, and open experimentation can unlock better AI.

Getty Images, sarawuth702

Build Better AI

Something I think just about all of us agree on: we want better AI. Regardless of your current perspective on AI, it's undeniable that, like any other tool, it can unleash human flourishing. There's progress to be made with AI that we should all applaud and aim to make happen as soon as possible.

There are kids in rural communities who stand to benefit from AI tutors. There are visually impaired individuals who can more easily navigate the world with AI wearables. There are folks struggling with mental health issues who lack access to therapists who are in need of guidance during trying moments. A key barrier to leveraging AI "for good" is our imagination—because in many domains, we've become accustomed to an unacceptable status quo. That's the real comparison. The alternative to AI isn't well-functioning systems that are efficiently and effectively operating for everyone.

Keep ReadingShow less
Government Cyber Security Breach

An urgent look at the risks of unregulated artificial intelligence—from job loss and environmental strain to national security threats—and the growing political battle to regulate AI in the United States.

Getty Images, Douglas Rissing

AI Has Put Humanity on the Ballot

AI may not be the only existential threat out there, but it is coming for us the fastest. When I started law school in 2022, AI could barely handle basic math, but by graduation, it could pass the bar exam. Instead of taking the bar myself, I rolled immediately into a Master of Laws in Global Business Law at Columbia, where I took classes like Regulation of the Digital Economy and Applied AI in Legal Practice. By the end of the program, managing partners were comparing using AI to working with a team of associates; the CEO of Anthropic is now warning that it will be more capable than everyone in less than two years.

AI is dangerous in ways we are just beginning to see. Data centers that power AI require vast amounts of water to keep the servers cool, but two-thirds are in places already facing high water stress, with researchers estimating that water needs could grow from 60 billion liters in 2022 to as high as 275 billion liters by 2028. By then, data centers’ share of U.S. electricity consumption could nearly triple.

Keep ReadingShow less
Posters are displayed next to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as he speaks at a news conference to unveil the Take It Down Act to protect victims against non-consensual intimate image abuse, on Capitol Hill on June 18, 2024 in Washington, DC.

A lawsuit against xAI over AI-generated deepfakes targeting teenage girls exposes a growing crisis in schools. As laws struggle to keep up, this story explores AI accountability, teen safety, and what educators and parents must do now.

Getty Images, Andrew Harnik

Deepfakes: The New Face of Cyberbullying and Why Parents, Schools, and Lawmakers Must Act

As a former teacher who worked in a high school when Snapchat was born, I witnessed the birth of sexting and its impact on teens. I recall asking a parent whether he was checking his daughter’s phone for inappropriate messages. His response was, “sometimes you just don’t want to know.” But the federal lawsuit filed last week against Elon Musk's xAI has put a national spotlight on AI-generated deepfakes and the teenage girls they target. Parents and teachers can’t ignore the crisis inside our schools.

AI Companies Built the Tool. The Grok Lawsuit Says They Own the Damage.

Whether the theory of French prosecutors–that Elon Musk deliberately allowed the sexualized image controversy to grow so that it would drive up activity on the platform and boost the company’s valuation–is true or not, when a company makes the decision to build a tool and knows that it can be weaponized but chooses to release it anyway, they are making a risk-based decision believing that they can act without consequence. The Grok lawsuit could make these types of business decisions much more costly.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026