Elections and Media

Nothing new Twitter owner Elon Musk has done and undone is nearly as concerning as his decision to suddenly reinstate former President Donald Trump’s account. As someone who has been studying Trump’s Twitter use since before he was elected president, I believe that his return would mean the heightened spread of both misinformation and disinformation, the proliferation of degrading and dehumanizing discourse, the further mainstreaming of hate speech, and the erosion of democratic norms and institutions.

Many election deniers on the ballot, particularly for the crucial secretary-of-state roles, lost their races. This is because platforms, governments, and the media took countermeasures that were at least partially effective, based on their lessons from 2016, 2018, and 2020.  Though misinformation remains present in large quantities, this time it had less reach, was more spread out, and was harder to find.

As the dust settles on the 2022 midterm elections, we take a look at how members of the House and Senate Commerce Committees fared and who we can expect back when the 118th Congress convenes in January 2023.

In the weeks since Elon Musk took over the platform, his erratic leadership and bewildering choices have alienated many of Twitter’s power users, a core crop of whom are part of the American political establishment. But leaving a communications channel that’s become central to how Washington works won’t be easy. Washington takes Twitter very seriously. Twitter is a place where all the worlds that make up Washington — the politicians, the policy experts, the press, academics, activists, and others — gather.

Voters in Alabama approved a new state constitution as well as 10 amendments, one of which frees up the state and local governments to use stimulus funds from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to attract internet service providers in hopes of expanding broadband service. Amendment Two was passed alongside several other amendments concerning election laws, criminal justice, and taxation. The measures were all attached to a new state constitution replacing a document written in 1901.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel hopes the outcome of the 2022 midterm elections will help break the longstanding 2-2 tie on the regulatory commission, but she also defended the body’s deadlocked body’s record during her leadership. “We’ve turned the noise down, and turned up the number of things we’re getting done,” she said, alluding to the commission’s profile under her predecessor as chair, Ajit Pai. At the behest of former President Trump, Pai spearheaded a series of dramatic rollbacks of longstanding media rules when the five-member commission tilted 3-

Elon Musk waded into uncharted political waters when he urged “independent-minded voters” to cast their ballots for Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections, making the kind of explicit endorsement his fellow tech CEOs have avoided in the past. “To independent-minded voters: Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic,” Musk wrote on Twitter. The tweet garnered over 43,000 retweets and over 279,000 likes after it was posted.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk led a call with civil rights groups in an effort to assure them that he would curtail hate speech — and stop the spread of misinformation ahead of the midterm elections. Musk said that Twitter employees responsible for election integrity who had been locked out of their moderation tools during the company’s acquisition will have their access reinstated soon. Musk also said that users banned by the platform — including former President Donald Trump — will remain off the site “for at least a few more weeks.” The gathering was part of Musk’s effort to set up a “content mo

Amid the usual checks for close Senate races, tech is giving to spread crypto, help out VC, and bring more tech talent to politics. GMI PAC has been one of the biggest recipients of Silicon Valley's largesse in the leadup to the midterm election.

On November 8, America could accomplish another political first: Electing two US senators from the idiosyncratic, increasingly ideological world of Silicon Valley venture capital.