Campaigns
We listened to all the podcasts from 2028 candidates. Here’s who stood out.
Washington Post
“Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) draws the largest audience, with an average 1.8 million downloads and views per month. Others have far fewer listeners: A podcast co-hosted by Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-California) averages only 23, according to totals pulled by the podcast analytics firm Podscribe as of earlier this month.”
Content
The big divide in American news consumption is less about “left vs. right” than “active vs. passive”
Nieman Lab
“59% of those surveyed said they actively seek out news, versus 41% who rely on occasional osmosis-by-feed.”
How Podcasts Shaped the 2024 Race – and What it Means in 2026
Campaigns & Elections
“Among self-identified registered voters who have listened to at least one podcast in the past month, half said that podcasts had at least some influence over how they voted on Election Day 2024, according to the survey. Those voters broke solidly in favor of Trump; 54 percent said they voted for the current president, while 45 percent said they cast their ballots for former Vice President Kamala Harris.”
International
Meta's ban on political ads in Europe unsettles newsrooms.
Columbia Journalism Review
“Swept up in the ban was not just political messaging but also thousands of promotional posts from news outlets, including subscription offers, fundraising drives, even cultural coverage.”
Dutch Far Right Gets Unexpected Boost From AI, Political Ad Ban
Bloomberg
“Across the EU, politicians, academics and activists worry that the moratorium robs moderate voices of one of their main ways of reaching voters online, while leaving the ground open for the divisive and extreme content that is often rewarded by platforms’ algorithms.”
Deepfake video of Irish presidential candidate rocks campaign
Politico
“The full video shows an imitation of the RTÉ news report, its new studio, and deepfake versions of presenter Sharon Ní Bheoláin and political correspondent Paul Cunningham, announcing the withdrawal and discussing the possible impact.”
Technology
AI’s New Role in the Ground Game: Predicting Influence, Not Just Votes
Relational Republican
“But in relational organizing — and especially in the age of AI — reach alone doesn’t win hearts. What matters is the influence value of each connection.”