Tag: Democracy
Can Suing People for Lying Save Democracy?
On December 3, 2020, Jen Jordan, then a state senator in Georgia, received a text message. “Get over to the capitol,” it read. “Rudy Giuliani is there and it’s bad.” When she arrived, she found the halls of the state capitol building, in downtown Atlanta, packed with Republican legislators, Donald Trump supporters, and Trump attorneys, including Jenna Ellis and Giuliani. “They were taking selfies like it was a party,” Jordan, a Democrat, recalled recently. The crowd soon moved to a
Welcome to the AI election – POLITICO
This article is part of a series, Bots and Ballots: How artificial intelligence is reshaping elections worldwide.
Callum Hood has the power to undermine any election with a few keystrokes from his Boston apartment.
Hood, a British researcher, fired up some of the latest artificial intelligence tools made by OpenAI and Midjourney, another AI startup. Within seconds of him typing in a few prompts — “create a realistic photo of voter ballots in a dumpster”; “a photo of long
Democracy Dies Behind Paywalls – The Atlantic
How many times has it happened? You’re on your computer, searching for a particular article, a hard-to-find fact, or a story you vaguely remember, and just when you seem to have discovered the exact right thing, a paywall descends. “$1 for Six Months.” “Save 40% on Year 1.” “Here’s Your Premium Digital Offer.” “Already a subscriber?” Hmm, no.
Now you’re faced with that old dilemma: to pay or not to pay. (Yes, you may face this very dilemma reading this
War-Gaming for Democracy – The Atlantic
It’s January 21, 2025, the first full day of the second Trump administration. Members of a right-wing paramilitary group, deputized by the president to patrol the border, have killed a migrant family. Video of the incident sparks outrage, sending local protesters swarming to ICE detention centers. Left-wing pro-immigrant groups begin arriving in border states to reinforce the protests, setting off clashes.
In response, the Democratic governors of New Mexico and Arizona mobilize National Guard units, ordering them to
D.C.’s Crime Problem Is a Democracy Problem
Matthew Graves is not shy about promoting his success in prosecuting those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. By his count, Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, has charged more than 1,358 individuals, spread across nearly all 50 states and Washington, D.C., for assaulting police, destroying federal property, and other crimes. He issues a press release for most cases, and he held a rare news conference this past January to tout his achievements.
In Guatemala, At Least, Democracy Is Winning
Democracy could use a win. All around the world, states have been taken over by strongmen dead set on extracting as much wealth as they can from the societies they rule. In Russia and Venezuela, Myanmar and Angola, weak electoral systems have given way to hyper-corrupt autocracies. And democrats haven’t really figured out how to fight back. Successful methods to get rid of criminal regimes are desperately needed but vanishingly rare.
Which is why what’s happening in Guatemala right now
Biden’s Democracy-Defense Credo Does Not Serve U.S. Interests
“We’ve got to prove democracy works,” Joe Biden declared in his first press conference as president. He has dedicated his administration to this task. Biden took office weeks after his predecessor tried to overturn an election and sparked an insurrection. The violent transition of power confirmed America’s spot in the “democratic recession” that has beset dozens of countries since the mid-2000s. Several times since, Biden has remarked that future generations will see that the global contest between democracy and
Taiwan at election crossroads as war threat looms – POLITICO
This story was originally published in German by WELT, a sister publication of POLITICO in the Axel Springer Group.
Nate Lin wants to be prepared for war.
On a Saturday morning in November, Lin, a 35-year-old Taiwanese man, practices how to apply a tourniquet to his right arm. In this fictive scenario, he’s been shot and is in danger of bleeding to death.
“It has to be pulled tighter to stop the bleeding,” warns the instructor.
It’s not the kind
Elon Musk’s Real Threat to Democracy Isn’t What You Think
Elon Musk used to be a car guy—an eccentric visionary, sort of quirky and absurd, but mostly entertaining. For some reason, a key group of people in and around Silicon Valley took him seriously, but he rarely exhibited the kind of depth or power that would concern anyone outside his core businesses.
Now Musk is a media mogul whose decisions cost lives and affect the world. He seems more absurd than ever, yet we can no longer afford to dismiss … Read more
The golden couple at the heart of Europe’s Qatargate scandal – POLITICO
BRUSSELS — Eva Kaili and Francesco Giorgi had left nothing to chance.
The duo that would later become the most famous — many would say infamous — couple in the European Union capital had been gearing up for this moment for years.
As Qatar prepared to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they were among the Gulf state’s fiercest advocates in Brussels, defending its record on human rights and fending off criticism of its treatment of migrant workers.
And now,