Last Week to Apply: Developing the Next Generation of Political Innovators
Center for Campaign Innovation
"We're thrilled to announce the launch of our inaugural Emerging Leaders Program – a transformative six-month leadership development initiative designed for ambitious early to mid-career professionals in the political industry."
Campaigns
Political Texts or Scantily Clad Pics? Both.
New York Times
"Men received a photo of Emily Ratajkowski — a supermodel and a longtime supporter of Bernie Sanders — in a bikini, while women received a photo of a topless man cradling a puppy. The photo of the shirtless man was created for the 2015 edition of the “Hunks and Hounds” annual calendar."
NRSC privately blasts GOP campaigns on lackluster fundraising
Axios
"NRSC Executive Director Jennifer DeCasper drew mumbles from GOP chiefs of staff on Thursday when she said many Senate campaigns are being outraised by House rank-and-file lawmakers, a source familiar told Axios."
Fundraising
Fraud on ActBlue: New Report Details Potential Illegal Activity on the Democrat Platform
House Judiciary Committee
"This report reveals that ActBlue made its fraud-prevention rules 'more lenient' twice in 2024—even though there is extensive fraud on the platform, including from foreign sources."
Meet the 23-Year-Old Student Who Raised $25 Million in Democratic Losses
New York Times
"All told, the Weil campaign spent far less on local television ads, $1.5 million, than out-of-state online fund-raising."
International
What we learned from tracking AI use in global elections
Rest of World
"Experts who spoke to Rest of World said that while AI didn’t have catastrophic effects that swayed elections, there are still reasons to be concerned as fake AI content did reach wide audiences and social media users aren’t always adept at distinguishing AI content from authentic content."
Social Media
Social Media and Politics from 2023-2025
Designing Tomorrow
"However, no platforms exhibited an overwhelming majority of liberals or conservatives, Democrats or Republicans. Facebook, Email, and Text Messaging users were somewhat more likely to be conservative than liberal. In contrast, Discord and Reddit users were more likely to be liberal than conservative. Additionally, X (Twitter) is becoming more conservative and warmer towards conservatives, while Discord has become more liberal."
Turns out Community Notes are also "biased"
Faked Up
"The results are lopsided: 60% of proposed notes are on 'Republican' tweets; 40% on 'Democratic' ones. The difference gets starker when looking at notes that are rated helpful, 70% of which appear on Republican posts. This matters because only helpful notes are appended to the offending tweet and shown to all X users."
Trump Extends TikTok Deal Deadline, Delaying a Potential Ban
New York Times
"TikTok, which had been facing a Saturday deadline for a deal, now has another 75 days to find a new owner to comply with a federal law that requires it to change its structure to resolve national security concerns. That puts the new deadline for a deal in mid-June."
How Trump’s TikTok Negotiations Were Upended by China and Tariffs
New York Times
"Under the plan, new investors would own 50 percent of a new American TikTok entity, while Chinese owners would retain less than 20 percent, the limit specified by the law, two of the people said. ByteDance told the White House that Beijing was comfortable with the general structure, two of the people said."
Technology
The Progressive Group Hunting for a New Voter Contact System
Campaigns & Elections
"In other words, the systems currently available to organizers and progressive groups, simply can’t support the kind of rapid innovation in tactics and political tech happening on the ground."
Breaking Down 10DLC and the Campaign Registry
Center for Campaign Innovation
"Political texting is no longer a gray area. If you are unregistered or improperly structured, your messages may be blocked or delayed—especially during peak moments like election day."
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