The Ripon Forum - December 2025

OF “A AS ME SA RI S C

by SIN A & Ma AT TH x H ION E R or C ISE de UL r TU RE ”

“SERVICE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CORE PART OF WHO I AM.”

Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie discusses his service in the military & elective office.

December 2025 Volume 59, No. 6

PICKING UP THE PIECES How the media can regain the public’s trust.

by BOB CUSACK

Plus: “Managing a Modern Press Shop”

with essays by BRAD BAUMAN, LISA CAMOOSO MILLER & CHRIS ULLMAN

And: “James Madison Would be Appalled”

by KATIE FALLOW & JAKE KARR

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At Airbus, we honor the skill, innovation and dedication that define our workforce and keep America strong. For us, aerospace manufacturing isn’t just what we do, it’s how we serve.

As our nation approaches its 250th birthday, may we never forget that the United States is the country it is today because of its extraordinary heroes, both past and present.

This is why we remain steadfast in our commitment to advancing capabilities that protect and empower our nation, today and tomorrow.

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At Airbus, we are enabling American prosperity as a force for good. Our thanks to The Ripon Society for sharing these ideals.

“Ideas that matter, since 1965.“ Volume 59, Number 6

Cover Story

Politics & Perspective

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Picking Up the Pieces

By Bob Cusack The veteran journalist examines the lack of trust in the media today and offers his thoughts about how his colleagues in the Fourth Estate can win back the confidence of the public.

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The Age of Influencers and the Rise of AI

By Brad Bauman Five years after COVID, it’s as though we live in a completely different media world than we did before. We are living in an age of influencers, and our jobs have changed again.

America and the Rise of Assassination Culture

By Max Horder What’s happening on the internet is shaping and changing America in ways far beyond any of us can easily control — and are only beginning to understand.

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From Ink-Stained Fingers to Instant Feeds

By Lisa Camooso Miller Today, there is no morning news cycle — only a constant one. A story can spark on a podcast, catch fire on social media, and reach thousands before a traditional outlet even weighs in.

When it Comes to AI, the Market for Truth Outperforms the Ministry of Truth

By Casey Mattox & Nick Krosse If we want AI to deepen our understanding of reality rather than distort it, we need more freedom, not less. Truth can’t be programmed — it must be discovered through open debate.

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Fact Checking in the Age of AI

By Spence Purnell For the first time in history, users may soon have their own personalized fact-checking agents delivering customized, real-time context without waiting for a newsroom to publish a verdict.

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Today’s Communications Leaders are Playing 24/7 Three-Dimensional Chess

By Chris Ullman Earned media is still important, but catching up quickly is “owned” media -- that is, producing one’s own content and distributing it through websites and social media.

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As Authoritarians Invest in Online Censorship, Democracies Must Meet the Challenge

By Kian Vesteinsson & Grant Baker Freedom House found that governments have deployed increasingly advanced and widespread measures to control the digital sphere over the past decade and a half.

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James Madison Would be Appalled

By Katie Fallow & Jake Karr The Founders understood that free speech is a fundamental freedom on which our democracy rests. Restricting press access runs counter to this principle and violates the First Amendment.

Sections

Publisher The Ripon Society Jim Conzelman, President Editor Lou Zickar Deputy Editor Caroline Banaszak

Editorial Board Thomas Tauke Erik Paulsen Billy Pitts Jim Murtha John Feehery Sara Glenn Betsy Hawkings

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In this Edition From the Archives News & Events Ripon Profile of U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie

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THE RIPON SOCIETY HONORARY CONGRESSIONAL ADVISORY BOARD U.S. Senators: Shelley Moore Capito - Senate Co-Chair Todd Young - Senate Co-Chair Marsha Blackburn Bill Cassidy, M.D. Susan M. Collins John Curtis Steve Daines Joni Ernst Deb Fischer John Hoeven Jerry Moran Mike Rounds Thom Tillis Roger Wicker U.S. Representatives: Frank Lucas - House Co-Chair August Pfluger - House Co-Chair Stephanie Bice - House Co-Chair Mark Amodei Jodey Arrington Don Bacon Troy Balderson Andy Barr Mike Bost Rob Bresnahan Vern Buchanan Ken Calvert Kat Cammack Mike Carey Buddy Carter Juan Ciscomani Tom Cole Jake Ellzey Tom Emmer Ron Estes Gabe Evans Julie Fedorchak Randy Feenstra Brian Fitzpatrick Scott Franklin Andrew Garbarino Tony Gonzales Sam Graves Pat Harrigan Kevin Hern French Hill Ashley Hinson Bill Huizenga Dusty Johnson Dave Joyce John Joyce, M.D. Mike Kelly Jen Kiggans Kevin Kiley Young Kim Darin LaHood Bob Latta Laurel Lee Julia Letlow Celeste Maloy Brian Mast Michael McCaul Carol Miller John Moolenaar Blake Moore Greg Murphy, M.D. Dan Newhouse Zach Nunn Jay Obernolte Guy Reschenthaler Michael Rulli María Elvira Salazar Steve Scalise Pete Sessions Adrian Smith Jason Smith Lloyd Smucker Pete Stauber Bryan Steil Glenn “GT” Thompson Mike Turner David Valadao Ann Wagner Steve Womack Rudy Yakym

In this edition

As America approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, the relationship between the press and the public has reached a critical juncture. Trust in news institutions has plummeted to historic lows, while the very nature of how information flows through society has fundamentally transformed. In this edition of The Ripon Forum, we examine these seismic shifts and explore how the Fourth Estate can rebuild the confidence it has lost.

Bob Cusack, former editor-in-chief of The Hill newspaper, chronicles in our lead essay how the 2024 presidential election exposed deep fissures in media credibility. "I have covered politics in the nation's capital for three decades," he writes. "I didn't realize there was bias in the media until I worked in the Fourth Estate."

Cusack argues that outlets accepting White House spin over their own reporting instincts — combined with failure to honestly report on Biden's declining mental acuity — have contributed to a crisis threatening the press industry's very survival. His prescription is direct: "If you are covering news events for an outlet that purports to be down the middle, you cannot be an activist. You don't take sides. Period."

Three seasoned communications professionals also writing for this edition offer perspectives on managing press operations in this revolutionary moment. Brad Bauman, a principal at Raben's Strategic Communications practice, observes that "the left and the Democratic Party have struggled to think past the broadcast mentality that defined our work prior to the digital age." Today's effective communication requires engaging influencers "who sometimes have followings in the 5,000-10,000 range, while not even talking to people whose audiences scale in the millions." Lisa Camooso Miller, senior advisor at ROKK Solutions, notes that "today, there is no morning news cycle — only a constant one. A story can spark on a podcast, catch fire on social media, morph through commentary, and reach thousands before a traditional outlet even weighs in." Yet Miller finds hope in continuity: despite faster platforms, the purpose of communications work remains unchanged from 1776 — inform, persuade, inspire, and move people to act. Chris Ullman, Founder and President of Ullman Communications, examines how "earned media is still important, but catching up quickly is 'owned' media: producing one's own content and distributing it through websites and social media." He advocates for hiring talented writers while cautioning that contracting content production often results in "safe and banal" work.

Katie Fallow and Jake Karr of the Knight First Amendment Institute document how the Trump administration has taken unprecedented steps to restrict press access. "The Founders understood that free speech is a fundamental freedom on which our representative democracy rests," they write. When government provides access only to favored reporters, it exercises an impermissible "censorial power" that "poisons our information ecosystem and inhibits effective self-government." Max Horder, a senior fellow at the Network Contagion Research Institute, explores a disturbing trend in online political discourse. When Luigi Mangione murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, social media exploded with celebration. "What's happening on the internet is shaping and changing America in ways far beyond any of us can easily control — and are only beginning to understand," Horder warns. His research revealed that a high number of politically left-wing respondents expressed at least some justification for killing President Trump.

Casey Mattox and Nick Krosse of Stand Together argue that government attempts to regulate AI "truthfulness" would be unconstitutional and counterproductive, contrasting America's open approach with China's authoritarian model. Spence Purnell of the R Street Institute examines AI's impact on journalism, noting that Large Language Models can now verify claims at lightning speed while cautioning that the ideal future combines AI handling scale with humans supplying nuance. Kian Vesteinsson and Grant Baker of Freedom House document how governments have deployed increasingly sophisticated censorship measures over the past 15 years. They warn that U.S. foreign assistance cuts in early 2025 terminated critical funding for internet freedom programming, undermining organizations that have long defended against online censorship.

From the archives, we feature Dan Rather's remarkably prescient 2007 essay examining how the 24/7 news cycle was transforming political coverage. Rather warned that continuous coverage too often prioritized "soft news, infotainment, and celebrity coverage" over substantive journalism. And in our latest Ripon Profile, Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, who served in the 101st Airborne before his election to public office, discusses the important role that serving others has played in his life. “Service has always been a core part of who I am,” he states.

We hope you enjoy this edition of The Ripon Forum and, as always, welcome your comments.

Lou Zickar, Editor louzickar@riponsociety.org RIPON FORUM December 2025

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Cover Story

PICKING UP THE PIECES How the media can regain the public’s trust.

by BOB CUSACK

With less than a week to go until the 2024 presidential election, I received an urgent call from one of my colleagues at The Hill newspaper.

A senior editor on Oct. 29 told me that then-President Biden had apparently labeled President Trump supporters “garbage.” The first thing that came to mind was Hillary Clinton’s infamous “basket of deplorables” remark in 2016 and Trump’s subsequent surprise victory.

But there was controversy over what exactly Biden said and meant. Some journalists immediately swallowed 4

the White House spin and claimed the president’s comment was “taken out of context.” Biden’s team said his “garbage” quip was directed at a comedian who had referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” during a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden.

After listening to the Biden tape more than two dozen times, it was clear Biden had labeled Trump backers trash.

We reported it. Days later, it came to light that the White House had altered the official transcript over the objections of stenographers. Harris swiftly disassociated herself from

RIPON FORUM December 2025

Biden’s statements, though the damage had been done. somewhat mainstream: activist journalist. It should I have covered politics in the nation’s capital for three become obsolete because the phrase is an oxymoron. decades. I didn’t realize there was bias in the media until I There’s certainly a place for columnists and pundits on worked in the Fourth Estate. the far right and the far left and everything in between.

Most political journalists are Democrats, but that doesn’t However, if you are covering news events for an outlet mean they’re all biased. Far from it. Unfortunately, many that purports to be down the middle, you cannot be an reporters and editors get caught up in pre-election hysteria. activist. You don’t take sides. Period.

They forget to do what they should be doing — calling balls “Tough, but fair.” That’s the greatest compliment I and strikes. Instead they become powerful cheerleaders. have received as a journalist. When I hear it — and I have There was a smugness in political reporting in 2024. received it from both sides of the aisle — I respond with a Most outlets shied away from simple thank you. Like others, reporting the very important fact I have made more than a few that Biden’s mental acuity had mistakes in my professional slipped significantly as president. career. One thing I never did Voters could plainly see it. Yet, was try to win favor with my they were told countless times he sources by writing a hit piece was “as sharp as a tack.” or a floating a nutty conspiracy It’s no wonder that trust in theory. Both are commonplace the media is at historic lows. And in today’s media ecosystem. that’s part of the reason the press There is hope. For a industry is in such turmoil and variety of reasons, journalists will never be the same. are leaving mainstream press Politics has always been and going out on their own. polarizing (yes — even before That’s a good thing for at least Trump ran for president). Now it’s a couple reasons. Corporate off the charts. Politics has become media executives used to violent and dangerous. defend their media outlets.

Trump falsely says the Now they largely cower in Bob Cusack press is the enemy of the people the hopes of getting favors and insults anyone who gets in from government officials, his way. As the leader of the free most notably the approval of I have covered politics in world, that doesn’t set a good mergers. Secondly, we the nation’s capital for three pending example of public discourse. Still, need more truly independent decades. I didn’t realize he isn’t alone. Democrats and voices who care about the Republicans, who joined together there was bias in the media news and what it means for to sing on the steps of the Capitol Americans trying to make ends until I worked in the after 9/11, personally attack the meet. People don’t need to be other side — and sometimes their told how to think. They can do Fourth Estate. own side — on a regular basis. it that on their own.

The media — and social What is the media going media — must shoulder some blame. Faced with declining to look like in five or 10 or 20 years? That’s extremely revenues, corporate giants such as The Washington Post, uncertain. But it is well past time to try something CNN and CBS have tried to revamp their operations. They different. RF all face uphill climbs, though CBS seems to understand that a major revamp is in order instead of tinkering around the Bob Cusack has been reporting on policy and politics in edges.

Washington, DC since 1995 and was editor in chief of The In recent years, a term that was rarely uttered became Hill newspaper/TheHill.com for more than 10 years.

“Ideas that matter, since 1965.“

Subscribe to The Ripon Forum One year - Six editions for $40 www.riponsociety.org RIPON FORUM December 2025

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Managing a Modern Press Shop…

The Age of Influencers and the Rise of AI

by BRAD BAUMAN It’s become a giggle moment among my friends and me made doing the work of communicating through media easy who started out in political media relations two decades or more by today’s standards. Major centers of journalistic excellence ago. There comes a time every few months where we’re talking existed throughout the country. Major cities had two or three with an intern or junior staffer and someone will say, “You know major papers, sometimes more. Each paper had newsrooms why they call them clips right?” Knowing grins and eyes dart stacked with folks who became experts in their beats. Television around the room as one of us says, “Because when we started was diffuse — every media market had major network affiliates out, we had to cut them out of newspapers with scissors.” The owned by different companies who competed to break stories in joke, of course, underlies just how completely different a world real ways. The audience was captive to it, too. You got your news we live in today, as many of us young the same way your neighbors did, the press flacks spent the past 20 years morning paper, the 6:00 pm local trying to evolve our communications news, maybe a few hours of cable strategies through two non-stop news here and there. Communities decades of change. trusted those news sources, too. The We’ve navigated an era of biggest journalists and local anchors mass layoffs, media consolidation, were community leaders themselves. shrinking newsrooms, and hollowed Our jobs were, and still largely out local media. We’ve navigated are, structured for this world: find changing consumption habits in reporters, cultivate relationships, place different generations of social media stories, know those stories would be users, the need for paid amplification, read and taken as fact by thousands, and crumbling confidence in hundreds of thousands, or millions of institutions like mainstream media. readers. Everyone was drinking from We’ve navigated the commoditization the same well, so the conversations of truth, the age of the influencer and in Church, in line at the supermarket, without even catching a breath, we in the bowling alley or the bar were Brad Bauman now find ourselves at the beginning governed by the same baseline of of an AI-driven landscape that goes information. That all began to change far beyond the algorithms that used between 2008 and 2010.

The left and the to define what people see, hear, and During and immediately after the internalize as truth. economic meltdown in 2008-2009, Democratic Party have Throughout that time, I can we started to see two long term trends struggled to think past tell you, the left and the Democratic develop — social media began its the broadcast mentality Party have struggled to think past rise as the primary mode of internet the broadcast mentality that defined consumption and confidence in that defined our work our work prior to the digital age and institutions began to seriously erode. prior to the digital age. into a distributed communications I subscribe to the belief among many landscape where people turn to microon the progressive side that watching influencers or ChatGPT to answer their questions about the state Wall Street walk away scot-free from the economic crisis they of politics and the country. That, to me, continues to define the created probably did more to cement the idea that there were fundamental place where many of my peers, and many of our “two sets of rules” in this country — one for elites and one for clients, struggle to understand how we need to operate today and everyone else — than any other event in recent years. It also how we need to operate in the future. helped shift political action in this country toward nascent Let me take you back a moment, back to when we were grassroots movements like the Tea Party. all taking scissors to the New York Times for our bosses. A At the same time, the broadcast business model of combination of media consumption and trust in institutions communications began to erode. Those of us who worked to 6

RIPON FORUM December 2025

place stories and craft public opinion contended with a small we question how much, if any, of how we have done or work in and ever changing group of bloggers and celebrity journalists the past is even relevant to today’s environment. When clients who had large social followings, allowing us to reach audiences ask us to place an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, or to grab a at scale, but with a diminishing return. Our work was further reporter’s attention at the Washington Post, we ask ourselves, complicated by contractions in newsrooms, consolidations, and and increasingly our clients: Who exactly are you trying to closings of newspapers. reach? Who exactly are you trying to talk to?

On Capitol Hill between 2007 and 2012, there was an But that is our moment, and those are the kinds of questions incredible amount of innovation taking place on social media we face moving forward. Trying to get our own minds wrapped as communications directors sought to not only place content, around a media that is so stratified, so niche, and so deeply but create it for the first time. Streaming allowed us to create complex that in order to really penetrate, we need to be looking moments in hearings and YouTube off of one minute speeches at folks who sometimes have followings in the 5,000-10,000 on the floor in ways we never could before. It also meant that we range, while not even talking to people whose audiences scale needed to learn how to edit video, figure out audio quality, and, in the millions. Frankly, those who are still trying to talk at those of course, be the first out of the gate with pithy tweets whenever numbers are missing fundamental truths around the parasocial a big story moved. relationships that folks have developed with influencers, Once again we saw our work fundamentally change or the very real relationships they have formed with others between 2015 and 2020. With changes in the algorithms on participating in ongoing conversations in the spaces where fans social media, and with misinformation and disinformation come together to commiserate — on reddit, on slack, on twitch, flooding into these spaces, audiences retreated into smaller on patreon and on substack. and smaller filter bubbles. Many Those are the conversations continued to struggle with being that matter now, and those are the able to parse what is true, what places where smart communicators In order to really penetrate, isn’t true, what feels right versus are now working to influence we need to be looking at what the facts tell us about the ideas, influence opinions, and moment. The online environment influence voter behavior. And I do folks who sometimes have now allowed folks to have their mean for now, because now might followings in the 5,000-10,000 very well be through 2026 or 2028. confirmation bias supercharged, algorithms got better at serving up range, while not even talking The fact of the matter is, Large folks the opinions that they agreed Language Models (LLMs) and to people whose audiences with most, and shielded them from the sources they are reading and scale in the millions. the ones they didn’t want to see. using to parse truth and serve up This new operating immediate answers on GoogleAI environment closed whole or ChatGPT are likely going to communities off from one another, radicalized many, and for be the next battlefield that folks like me are engaging on. As those of us trying to speak across those filter bubbles, made those LLMs get to know users and become even more adept our work increasingly difficult. While many at the upper end at instantaneously knowing what, exactly, users are looking for of income and education clung to legacy media, most folks had in an answer — to confirm their long held beliefs in the face of turned completely away from those sources, and instead began counter-facts — our work will undoubtedly change again. listening to niche podcasts, reading niche online publications or Sometimes, I think back to the simplicity of the media frankly, relying on friends and family to serve them a steady landscape when I was doing our arts and crafts projects at 5:00 stream of information confined to their own political tribe. am, cutting headlines and key quotes out of the newspapers so It feels weird to say, but five years after COVID, it’s as they were ready for our bosses when they got into the office. though we live in a completely different media world than we I think back around the simplicity of how we were able to did before. We are living in an age of influencers, and our jobs communicate at scale and wonder if something like that should have changed again. With many folks continuing the “doom ever be replaced. I don’t know. What I do know is that 20 years scrolling” that defined 2020 and 2021, with group text chains into an information revolution, we haven’t kept up — much less looming larger in people’s lives than many offline interactions, gotten ahead of — what’s to come next.

RF and with legacy media now accounting for around 10 percent of market share, the broadcast model is officially dead. Social Brad Bauman is a principal at Raben’s Strategic media sources and creators are now America’s number one Communications practice. In 2024, he was one of the founders news source. and organizers of White Dudes for Harris. He previously served Those of us who trained in the pre-Internet era, came as executive director of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, up professionally as that era took hold, and have struggled and as communications director for various House members to change our very mindset around how we reach audiences and multiple Congressional campaigns, including Congressman beyond our own filter bubbles have reached a reckoning where Tim Ryan and Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy.

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Managing a Modern Press Shop…

From Ink-Stained Fingers to Instant Feeds

by LISA CAMOOSO MILLER My earliest memories of working in communications authenticity. We think not only about what to say, have me elbow-deep in newspapers, fingers covered in but how it will land — in print, on camera, in shortblack ink. Before dawn at the New Jersey Statehouse, form video, in a screenshot, or clipped without I’d sit at a long table with a leaning stack of papers, context. The work blends storytelling, data, instinct, cutting out articles with scissors, taping them onto legaland speed. It requires calm in noise and clarity in size sheets, photocopying them, and hand-delivering the complexity. packet so every office started the And yet, as we near day with the same understanding this milestone anniversary, of the news. That packet was our I’m struck by how much “newsfeed” — and it moved at the the purpose of the work speed of a copy machine. remains the same.

It felt fast at the time. The In 1776, the revolution news had a rhythm: morning spread through communication papers, midday radio, evening — pamphlets, speeches, broadcast. You learned reporters letters, and spirited debate by name and by beat, built trust in taverns and town squares. through conversation, and shaped The tools were slower, but the tomorrow’s headlines with a wellmission was identical: inform, placed quote or event. And when persuade, inspire, and move you shut off the lights, the news people to act. truly paused until morning.

That hasn’t changed.

Lisa Camooso Miller Fast forward 25 years, The platforms are faster, and as the country approaches the volume louder, and the the 250th anniversary of the Today, there is no stakes higher. But the heart of American Revolution, the world the job is still about connection morning news cycle of communications looks almost and trust. It’s about helping — only a constant one. unrecognizable. people understand what’s Today, there is no morning happening, why it matters, and A story can spark on a news cycle — only a constant one. what they can believe in. podcast, catch fire on A story can spark on a podcast, Because whether you’re catch fire on social media, morph social media, morph covered in newsprint or through commentary, and reach scrolling three screens at once, through commentary, and thousands before a traditional communications has always reach thousands before outlet even weighs in. Reporters been about people — and are still essential, but they now giving them something true to a traditional outlet even share the stage with newsletter hold onto.

RF weighs in. writers, creators, analysts, and everyday voices who can influence Lisa Camooso Miller is a the narrative in real time. seasoned communications leader with over 20 years A modern communications team isn’t just a press of experience in public affairs, having held key roles shop; it’s a strategy hub. We don’t simply prepare in government, political and advocacy organizations. spokespeople for interviews anymore. We build She is senior advisor at ROKK Solutions and currently messages that bend to different platforms without losing hosts her own podcast, “The Friday Reporter.”

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Managing a Modern Press Shop…

Today’s Communications Leaders are Playing 24/7 Three-Dimensional Chess

by CHRIS ULLMAN Today, the heads of global communications at blurred between corporate propaganda and objective major companies have their hands full…it’s 24/7 news. More on that in a moment. three-dimensional chess. Technology is the primary The challenge with earned media is getting a story culprit. The Internet flings news around the world in in the first place, then hoping it’s accurate and balanced seconds and allows for content platforms that have while crossing your fingers that the right people see/ marginalized traditional print read/hear it. Earned media may and broadcast news outlets. be more authentic and objective, In my first public relations but you can’t control it. It’s risky. job, 38 years ago, we mailed our “Owned” media, meanwhile, news releases to reporters. And is lower risk: you create the there were fewer news outlets, content and send it to your targeted many of which put out “the audiences.

Two challenges: news” once a day. Under lower overcoming the inertia of competitive pressure, reporters boredom (most corporate had more time to be thorough and content is dreck) and embracing accurate. Not anymore. Today, objectivity while rejecting whether the news is coming from propaganda. To overcome these Hong Kong, Paris, or New York, challenges, a communications scoops are measured in seconds head needs to be innovative and and immediacy trumps accuracy creative in producing content and and thoroughness. This requires still convince management and communications professionals to lawyers to sign-off. I recommend Chris Ullman rethink how they create “news” the “embrace incrementalism” and how they distribute it. approach. Innovate a little at Pre-internet, PR people a time, affording comfort to the Earned media is still relied almost exclusively on powers that be, while moving important, but catching “earned” media (objective news toward owned content that coverage) to get messages to audiences find compelling and up quickly is “owned” key audiences. Earned media informative, and maybe even media: producing one’s is still important, but catching humorous. up quickly is “owned” media: own content (marketing I espouse a “content is king” producing one’s own content approach — meaning, I don’t videos, commentary) (marketing videos, commentary) necessarily care where content and distributing it and distributing it through (earned or owned) appears as long websites and social media as it’s on a legitimate platform through websites and (YouTube, X, Instagram). (major newspaper, network news, social media (YouTube, Owned media YouTube, or trade publication). disintermediating traditional X, Instagram).

This has important implications media outlets surely excites PR for a modern communications people, as they can by-pass the shop. long-standing news gatekeepers. I am sympathetic Day in and day out you’re: writing original Tweets to this view; biased reporting has frustrated me for while judiciously responding to critics on social decades. But the public can suffer as the lines are media; scripting and filming a series of YouTube short RIPON FORUM December 2025

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videos; drafting the latest Substack commentary for your CEO; and developing a new multi-media feature on your corporate website. That’s a lot, especially when audiences are large and stakes are high.

Hiring the right people for these various tasks requires threading the needle between the excitement of youth and the wisdom of age. At its core, though, is the ability to think and write well – sadly, that’s ever in short supply. Or you contract it all out to a “content” PR firm. But one-step-removed content production risks being safe and banal, because that’s what most PR firms produce. Whichever path a leader chooses, the content producers need a mandate and

license to be creative, otherwise the status quo will prevail.

Leading a global communications team today is hard work. But with talented writers and thinkers, deep understanding of earned and owned media, a spirit of innovation, an ability to persuade, and the trust of the CEO, today’s communications heads can advocate well for their clients through the thicket of what technology has wrought on the media landscape.

RF Chris Ullman is Founder and President of Ullman Communications, a strategic advisory firm based in Alexandria, VA.

HOW AMERICANS GET THEIR NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA WHERE AMERICANS GET THEIR NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

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James Madison would be Appalled

Restricting press access violates the First Amendment and harms our democracy

by KATIE FALLOW and JAKE KARR Nearly 250 years ago, James Madison declared on federal agencies to rename the body of water “Gulf the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives that in a of America.” The press pool is a small group of republican government, “the censorial power is in the journalists assigned to cover the President’s activities people over the Government, not in the Government on behalf of the larger credentialed White House over the people.” The Founders understood that free press corps. The pool dates back to 1881, when an AP reporter was posted outside speech is a fundamental President James Garfield’s freedom on which our sick room to provide updates representative democracy on his condition after he was rests. The Founders also shot. recognized that the press President Trump’s plays an essential role in selfdecision to bar the AP from government by informing the press pool was the the public about the work of first time that a President their elected representatives, from either political party thus enabling the people to has banned a news outlet hold government officials to from the pool based on its account. viewpoint. Previously, the Unfortunately, the Trump White House press pool administration has taken a enjoyed a largely unbroken series of steps this year that James Madison history of independence. fly in the face of the First Its composition was Amendment principle, long determined in a nonpartisan recognized by the Supreme The Founders understood way by the White House Court, that the press is “a Correspondents’ Association, constitutionally chosen that free speech is a and its journalists could means for keeping officials fundamental freedom on engage in newsgathering elected by the people and reporting without fear or responsible to all the people which our representative favor. whom they were selected democracy rests.

Because the First to serve.” In reporting on Amendment prohibits the the government, the press government from imposing must be free from tampering these kinds of viewpointby government officials seeking to bend public opinion to their side. But the based penalties on reporters, the AP sued. A Trumpcurrent administration appears intent on imposing appointed federal judge in D.C. found that the ban unconstitutional restrictions on reporters to stem the violated the First Amendment because it excluded the AP from a forum that the White House had intentionally flow of information and control public discourse.

First, in February, the White House banned opened to a group of journalists for the purpose of journalists from The Associated Press (AP) from engaging in protected newsgathering and reporting, participating in White House “press pool” events in and because it impermissibly retaliated against the AP retaliation for the AP’s decision to continue using the based on its speech. That ruling is now on appeal.

Second, in October, the Pentagon issued vague term “Gulf of Mexico” after President Trump ordered RIPON FORUM December 2025

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new restrictions on the Pentagon press corps. Weeks Most Americans don’t communicate directly with the earlier, the Pentagon had released initial “draft” upper echelons of the executive branch. They rely on restrictions that would have required these reporters to their proxies in the press to be their eyes and ears — seek approval from the government before publishing to ask questions, seek out information, and report on their stories. After pushback from across the political the business of their government. By representing spectrum, the Pentagon announced “revised” multiple perspectives and probing government talking restrictions that were less direct, but equally chilling. points, a diverse and independent press corps keeps These restrictions state that while “[m]embers of the the people closer to their elected representatives and news media are not required to submit their writings . those representatives closer to the people. . . for approval” before publication, the Pentagon may The Trump administration has defended its moves nevertheless revoke their press passes — and bar them by arguing that access to government officials and spaces from accessing the Pentagon — after they publish is a privilege, not a right, and that the government should any “unauthorized” be able to pick and information or merely choose which reporters “solicit” information deserve that privilege. from department But this position turns employees.

Madison’s declaration This standardless on its head. When the policy gives the government provides Pentagon the power access only to favored to retaliate selectively reporters, or only if against reporting it reporting conforms disfavors and sends a to the government’s message to the entire chosen narratives, it Pentagon press corps: Be exercises a “censorial careful what you report, power” over the Katie Fallow Jake Karr because your access press that poisons our depends on it. Dangling information ecosystem the threat of revocation and inhibits effective over journalists’ self-government.

RF The Founders also heads, the restrictions forced members of the Katie Fallow is deputy recognized that the press press corps to choose litigation director plays an essential role in selfbetween continued at the Knight First government by informing the access and adherence Amendment Institute, to basic journalistic where she focuses on public about the work of their independence and threats to free speech elected representatives, thus integrity.

The vast and a free press in the majority of news digital age, particularly enabling the people to hold organizations that in the area of social government officials regularly cover the media. Before joining to account.

Pentagon, including the Knight Institute, Ms. conservative outlets like Fallow was a partner at Fox News and Newsmax, Jenner & Block LLP in rejected these terms, and their reporters turned in their Washington, D.C., and served as Deputy Director of press passes. the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC. Jake These efforts by the Trump administration to Karr is a staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment control the information that reaches the public should Institute, where he focuses on issues of government trouble anyone who cares about self-government and censorship, surveillance, and transparency. Before free speech. The press corps and press pools that cover joining the Knight Institute, Mr. Karr was the Acting federal officials and agencies like the President and the Director of the Technology Law & Policy Clinic at New Pentagon serve a unique function in our democracy. York University School of Law.

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Politics & Perspective

America and the Rise of Assassination Culture

by MAX HORDER

The American political environment has changed in general. This was an America which few of us had seen drastically over the past few years, and few people truly before. understand why. Many of us still struggle to make sense of that The murder of Brian Thompson went viral, shocking strange feeling, not merely that seismic events happen, but that many of us into facing a new reality, one in which political the U.S. itself has changed. They’re right to think so. America violence against so-called “elites” was appropriate and has changed. And, unfortunately, not very much for the better. acceptable. So, we began investigating why so much of At the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), the population felt that Luigi Mangione was a hero, an allour team studies the dynamic (and American Che Guevara. What we often toxic) relationship between discovered was that vast corners of mainstream politics and the cyberthe internet were absolutely rife with domain. In plain language, we celebrations of the killing. We found spend much of our time figuring out the celebrations of him on X/Twitter, whether the corrosive effects of social Bluesky, and Reddit. We found such media is making our politics crazier, a sophisticated circulation of memes, or whether our politics has become jokes, Nintendo pictures, and taglines crazier and that is simply reflected on about Mangione that we started social media. It’s not easy. Violence referring to it as a kind of ecosystem existed long before social media and — a sort of cyber-subculture in which will likely exist long after it’s gone. ideas previously beyond the pale But, at this point, we have absolutely could live and breathe without, so to no doubt that what’s happening on speak, too much adult supervision. A the internet is shaping and changing vast digital world of artistic support America in ways far beyond any of for Luigi Mangione was hidden right Max Horder us can easily control — and are only before our eyes. We were witnessing beginning to understand. an assassination culture.

While the NCRI has had Part of what made this story What’s happening on the major impact revealing the Chinese so interesting was that it flipped the internet is shaping and Communist Party’s manipulation story we were used to hearing in the of TikTok, or how excessive social changing America in ways U.S. today — that political violence media use is making us become more always comes from the Right. What far beyond any of us can like the ‘bots’ that farm engagement we were seeing is that, at least in this across millions of accounts, our most case, almost all of it was coming from easily control — and are recent work on the growth of what the political Left. The vast numbers only beginning we call an “assassination culture” has of Americans who supported the to understand. received some of the most widespread killing of Brian Thompson did so in attention. And that’s because when the name of an anti-capitalist, and Luigi Mangione decided to kill the very anti-American, kind of ideology.

CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, one cold day To understand this better, we launched a survey of in December last year, the public reaction shocked almost thousands of Americans. The results were even more surprising everyone. than what we found on social media. Slightly over half of all Most people condemned the murder as an act of cold- those who were politically left-wing agreed that the murder blooded, inexcusable violence. But, Americans discovered, of public figures — including Elon Musk — could be at least many also did not. Many said not only was this the right thing partially justified. Even more (around 56 percent) believed to do, but it should be actively celebrated as a form of resistance that there was at least some justification for killing President — to CEOs, capitalists, the healthcare industry, or just the rich Donald Trump. Around 60 percent believed that smashing up 14

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a Tesla dealership could justify at least some destruction, too. not only be measured — they are increasingly common.

Most worryingly, in our latest survey (December 2025), we There is one last ingredient in the stew of American found that a high number of politically left-wing respondents dysfunction today, and that is the idea of personal agency. expressed at least some justification for killing Donald Trump People today, particularly young people, feel powerless. They (data forthcoming). Together, this shows a generalized approval feel powerless to change their life, and to do many of the of violence that is only climbing year-on-year. things that were previously relatively simple to do — buy a Although fewer of those surveyed believed in actively house, get a good job, graduate from college debt-free, and so going and doing all of this, these numbers are extremely on. When Luigi Mangione told his friends about his plans, he significant for social scientists, not because they reflect a said he wanted to break the “NPC” – an acronym in videogrowing amount of violent psychopaths in our society, but game slang for “Non-Playable Character.” He wanted to revolt because they show that more and more of us believe that such against a sense of helplessness that his whole generation feels, actions are basically okay. And when enough of those violent whether it’s right or not. And that feeling — what psychologists psychopaths feel that, too — we are in deep, deep trouble. call the “locus of control” — is, in fact, one of other important Ultimately, what connects this growing acceptance of characteristics of those who support left-wing violence. They violence to the online ecosystem of pro-Luigi memes is what feel like the system is against them, and so they react by scholars call “permission structures.” Think of them like the supporting violence against those who seem to run it. And social wink or a nod towards some kind of behavior. When enough media appears to be directly feeding this sense of helplessness people are willing to overlook — or worse, promote — acts even more, especially given that people can cheer it on of violence and disorder, while remaining completely the likelihood of it grows anonymous.

In our latest survey, we found significantly.

“Permission It’s a completely different structures” are essentially world from traditional that 68 percent of politically leftpsychological corridors that incitement, where there wing respondents expressed at can pull someone towards even was at least the necessity of least some justification for killing clandestine physical meetings the most subversive behavior possible — like justifying and escape. Today, you can Donald Trump. Together, this shooting Donald Trump or connect to people who harbor shows a generalized approval of burning down one of Musk’s violent and anti-social attitudes Tesla dealerships. And when just by joining a Telegram violence that is only climbing you find entire online cultures channel on your phone. What’s year-on-year. just full of people celebrating more, young people today the killing of Brian Thompson, have grown up in an era of an it’s not difficult to see how easy it could be to believe it’s the increasing lack of civic responsibility or engagement. They are fed right thing to do. an endless stream of nihilistic content on social media and cannot There’s another part to this puzzle, too, one that gets right do many of the things that are expected of adults. It makes some to the heart of so much of the bigger narrative about what’s of them feel good to join the online mob and support the killing going on in America today. Most mainstream academics will of “establishment” figures. And it makes it almost impossible to talk about something called “right-wing authoritarianism,” a legislate against, too, because American laws vigorously (and cluster of attitudes that revolve around defending social order, correctly) prohibit interfering in free speech. punishing outsiders, and venerating some kind of hero. They’ll The solution, instead, is in the right leadership. Probably use it to point to someone like Trump and use it to explain the single most consequential action that politicians could almost all of the current polarization in our politics today. But take would be to stand together and say that whatever our it’s only half the story. differences, violence is never, ever, the answer. There are There is a “left-wing authoritarianism” in the world, too, problems in our society, just as there are in any society. And though it is far less studied or discussed than the “right-wing” Americans are free to disagree about what to do about them, for variety. In fact, it is the single most salient characteristic across that is the beauty of the Republic. What can never be acceptable all the people we surveyed who support political violence is the celebration of violence against opponents. What America against figures like Trump, Elon, and Brian Thompson. The needs, in the end, is courage.

RF attitudes of “left-wing authoritarianism” are everywhere around us — on college campuses, in the “free speech” debates, Max Horder is a senior fellow at the Network Contagion and so many more. The “woke” energy which has become so Research Institute, which deploys machine learning tools prevalent in American culture is, from one perspective, just an to expose the growing tide of hate and extremism on social expression of these growing characteristics among Americans media. He has a PhD in Anthropology from Princeton to overthrow the social order, censor those who disagree with University, where he studied the causes of political them, and punish those in power. Such antisocial attitudes can polarization in Western democracies.

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When it Comes to AI, the Market for Truth Outperforms the Ministry of Truth

by CASEY MATTOX & NICK KROSSE When you think of artificial intelligence, “truth” may AI infected with government control and censorship holds not be the first word that comes to mind. We’ve all seen unprecedented power to distort reality if embedded with the viral stories — AI chatbots suggesting users eat rocks the wrong values or regulated to the point of censorship.

Take, for example, China’s approach to AI. DeepSeek, to get their daily dose of minerals, recommending books by famous authors that don’t exist, and, of course, Google a Chinese AI startup, has attracted international attention Gemini’s infamous stumble over its “creative” depictions for refusing to answer certain questions and parroting Communist Party of popes and historical language. As The New figures.

York Times reported, Those anecdotes when asked if Russia are easy to laugh off invaded Ukraine, as quirky examples of DeepSeek admitted to code gone wrong or censorship, replying, bots taking internet “according to the sarcasm a little too Chinese government’s literally. But imagine stance, directly something more answering yes or no serious — not a glitch may not fit the official in the algorithm, but narrative.” a government agency That type telling AI systems of authoritarian what to say.

Casey Mattox Nick Krosse censorship is why China That’s not ranked last on The a hypothetical.

Future of Free Speech’s According to a new report, which evaluated report from The Future As AI continues to rapidly government approaches of Free Speech at expand, policymakers must to AI regulation in six Vanderbilt University, resist the urge to overregulate AI major nations. China’s it’s already happening. poor ranking was The report is “in the name of truth.” due to its emphasis a stark reminder on “state control, of generative AI’s ability to both expand and restrict free expression. Free ideological conformity, and stringent censorship.” The expression is what enables open debate, the challenging country’s regulatory structure requires AI to conform to of ideas, and, ultimately, truth-seeking — the hallmarks “socialist core values,” ensuring that all models reinforce of democracy. When free expression is threatened, so is government orthodoxy.

In contrast, the United States ranked highest on democracy itself.

As AI continues to rapidly expand, policymakers the list, thanks in large part to the First Amendment’s must resist the urge to overregulate AI “in the name of strong free speech protections. The U.S. framework isn’t truth.” Free expression is a tremendous tool for advancing perfect — a patchwork of state laws on issues such as the search for truth. The open competition of AI models political deepfakes, disclosure mandates, and algorithmic discrimination has complicated things. For the most part, can help to advance human knowledge.

From Pontius Pilate to the Disinformation Governance however, U.S. government policies avoid dictating what Board, government has rarely been a champion of truth. AI models can and cannot say.

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The report, which also examined eight leading beginning of a truth-seeking scorecard that can align generative AI models, found those developed in more incentives toward advancing, rather than restricting, open societies were generally better at “truth-seeking.” knowledge and speech.

While growing this type of public accountability Still, even the top models — all developed in the United States — had significant room for improvement, from is critical, governments must also resist the temptation clarifying user terms and conditions and increasing to micromanage speech or “regulate truth.” When the transparency around training data to reducing the range state dictates which speech is permitted, the truth becomes politicized, chilled, and distorted. of prompts that platforms can refuse to answer.

As FIRE’s CEO Greg As we’ve seen in Lukianoff testified before other free speech contexts, Congress, “the most accountability, incentives, China’s regulatory structure requires chilling threat that the and free-market AI to conform to “socialist core government poses in the competition can drive that values,” ensuring that all models context of emerging AI improvement. is regulatory overreach The Foundation for reinforce government orthodoxy. In that limits its potential as Individual Rights and contrast, U.S. government policies, a tool for contributing to Expression (FIRE) has while not perfect, avoid dictating human knowledge.” used its college freeIf we want AI to speech rankings to spur what AI models can and cannot say. deepen our understanding competition among of reality rather than universities, resulting in top “free speech” scores rising from 64% in 2020 to distort it, we need more freedom, not less. Truth cannot nearly 80% in 2026. Parents and prospective students are be programmed — it must be discovered through open now armed with information to distinguish the free speech and honest debate. Studies like this one from The environments at universities. And FIRE frequently hears Future of Free Speech show how accountability and from university board members and presidents seeking competition can turn AI into a tool for truth-seeking, guidance to improve their rankings — at least enough to not control. RF beat their rivals.

Regularly ranking AI models could create similar Casey Mattox is a constitutional attorney and Vice incentives to improve free expression policies through President for Legal Strategy at Stand Together. Nick healthy competition. That’s partly why The Future of Krosse is a Program Officer at Stand Together Trust, Free Speech report is so important — it has created the focusing on technology and speech policy.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Where do you stand?

What issues are important to you?

Do you agree or disagree with something you have read in The Ripon Forum?

We welcome your thoughts and opinions.

Please write our editor at editor@riponsociety.org.

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Fact Checking in the Age of AI

While misunderstood, transformative tools can democratize and improve the verification of information

by SPENCE PURNELL Consider a subjective query like, “Who was the Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the media landscape, altering the practice of verifying best U.S. president?” There is no objective way to whether information is accurate in profound, if answer this; the result depends entirely on the values misunderstood, ways. For decades, fact checking created weighted by the model or the user. Similarly, in the fog a bottleneck because it was labor intensive and relied on of breaking news, authoritative sources often do not people manually verifying information using primary exist yet. Whether the fact checker is human or silicone, consensus falls apart when sources. Today, AI performs this data is scarce or the debate is task at lightning speed, using ideological.

Large Language Models (LLMs) This is where the human to read, cross-reference, and element remains distinct. AI tests predict the veracity of claims in in fields like medicine show that real-time. while the technology can match This shift is not merely human performance in routine technical; it is economic. AI analysis, it fails to outperform has the potential to democratize top-tier experts in complex, highverification by collapsing the stakes diagnoses. This helps to cost of the fact-check. While illustrate how the ideal future of traditional outlets can only verify fact verification within the media a fraction of public statements, is not AI replacing humans, but AI offers the possibility of a “human-in-the-loop” system “Fact-Checking as a Service.” where AI handles the scale, and This integration is already in humans supply the nuance. We see Spence Purnell practice in some forums, from early signs of this in systems like xAI’s Grok’s ability to respond X’s, where AI is used not to dictate to users directly in their feeds, to For the first time in history, truth, but to enhance and amplify tools that attempt to “pre-bunk” the work of human fact-checkers. misinformation before it spreads. users may soon have their Given these nuances, how For the first time in history, own personalized factshould policymakers approach users may soon have their own personalized fact-checking agents checking agents delivering regulation? The answer is with extreme caution. delivering customized, real-time customized, real-time As Washington turns its eye context without waiting for a context without waiting toward AI regulation, we must newsroom to publish a verdict. establish a fundamental principle: Studies show that, in most fact for a newsroom to AI design and outputs are forms of checking cases, LLMs are capable publish a verdict. expression, should be considered of matching human quality. speech, and afforded the highest However, we must be level of protection under the First realistic about limitations. While Amendment. The act of writing AI enhances efficiency, it does not guarantee objectivity. The speed and automated code, which is used to create LLMs, is effectively the editorial nature of AI open the door to “hallucinations” and judgment of its creators. Any law that restricts the ability errors. More importantly, on sensitive political topics, of developers to build these tools, or restricts users from the concept of a “balanced” AI may be an impossibility. receiving their outputs, risks violating core constitutional 18

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principles. While narrow exceptions for defamation or libel We are moving toward a future where users may “silo” may apply, the government should not be in the business of themselves by using LLMs that reflect their own worldviews. regulating the “truthfulness” of an AI’s output any more than While some may view this as a flaw of human psychology, it it regulates the editorial page of a newspaper. is not a problem that government regulation can—or should— Some policymakers, recognizing this First Amendment solve. Transparency should be a contract between the user and hurdle, have pivoted toward the company, driven by consumer “transparency” mandates— demand, not a compliance checklist The government should forcing companies to reveal how enforced by the state. their models work. While well Ultimately, AI can not be in the business intentioned, this is a dangerous dramatically improve the of regulating the path. Requiring that a tech firm efficiency and accuracy of the fact publish its algorithm is equivalent checking industry. But to realize “truthfulness” of an AI’s to forcing Coca-Cola to publish that promise, we must resist output any more than it its recipe, or Google to reveal the urge to centralize control regulates the editorial page its search ranking signals. These of AI. Users must be diligent, are trade secrets; exposing them demanding, and willing to of a newspaper. destroys the core innovation of the experiment with different models. business and allows bad actors to If we allow the market to optimize, “game” the system. we will find that the best defense against misinformation is A better alternative is to trust the market. If an LLM not a government regulator, but a competitive ecosystem consistently displays a political slant, users will diagnose of AI tools that empower people to find the truth. RF it, screenshot it, and share it. In a competitive market, this creates pressure. If a model is uselessly biased, users can Spence Purnell is a resident senior fellow with the R Street switch to a competitor.

Institute’s technology and innovation team.

Leading the Future of Health AI Discover how CTA connects innovators, sets standards, and champions responsible AI-driven healthcare.

CTA.tech/HealthAI

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As Authoritarians Invest in Online Censorship, Democracies Must Meet the Challenge

The need to support countermeasures is greater than ever after 15 years of decline in global internet freedom.

by KIAN VESTEINSSON & GRANT BAKER Starting in the summer of 2024, internet users in and repressive tactics are exported around the world, Pakistan experienced something mysterious. Messages investment in internet freedom—and the researchers, to friends and family on WhatsApp, the most popular technical tools, and civil society organizations working social media platform in the country, often disappeared to safeguard it—is sorely needed to preserve the promise into the ether, while users of two other applications, of an open, global internet.

Signal and Instagram, reported intermittent disruptions.

Authoritarians cultivate new censorship tools The government offered vague explanations for slow Incumbent leaders in internet speeds, blaming authoritarian states use faulty submarine cables online censorship to silence or complications from dissent and maintain the use of virtual private control over information, networks (VPNs). Over with the ultimate goal of the course of the year, retaining their grip on researchers uncovered power. In the past year, the true cause of the repressive regimes have breakdowns: Pakistani deployed new technical authorities had installed systems or refined existing new censorship blocking technology. technology from a Many governments China-based firm that Kian Vesteinsson Grant Baker advanced their ambition helps maintain that of achieving what they country’s vast system call “cyber sovereignty,” for controlling online Freedom House found that effectively an attempt information, known as governments have deployed to wall off a country’s the Great Firewall. domestic internet from the The expansion of increasingly advanced and rest of the world.

Pakistan’s censorship widespread measures to control the In Russia, for regime is part of a digital sphere over the past decade example, authorities concerning worldwide accelerated their efforts trend highlighted in and a half, relying on sophisticated to isolate people from the Freedom on the Net 2025: censorship technology to suppress global internet, part of a An Uncertain Future online dissent. negative trend that has for the Global Internet, earned the country the released by Freedom largest 15-year decline House.

The report recorded in Freedom on the Net. Roskomnadzor, Russia’s analyzes 15 years of Freedom House data on internet media regulator and censorship authority, began throttling freedom, in partnership with a network of independent YouTube traffic in the summer of 2024, harming access experts from around the world. to one of the few global social media platforms that had Freedom House found that governments have been left unblocked by the Kremlin in the immediate deployed increasingly advanced and widespread aftermath of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. measures to control the digital sphere over the past In November 2024, Roskomnadzor blocked thousands decade and a half, relying on sophisticated censorship of websites that employ Cloudflare’s Encrypted Client technology to suppress online dissent. As new technology 20

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Hello, a feature that encrypts information about a user’s censorship measures. In May 2025, a group of Kenyan connection to a website and limits Russian authorities’ organizations, including the Bloggers Association of ability to snoop on user traffic, before throttling all Kenya and the Collaboration on International ICT websites that used Cloudflare’s services in June 2025.

Policy for East and Central Africa (CIPESA), filed a Advancements in censorship technology and tactics lawsuit arguing that an unprecedented internet shutdown tend to spread among like-minded governments. The during June 2024 antigovernment protests and previous same Chinese firm that exported censorship equipment restrictions on social media platforms had violated to Pakistan reportedly cultivated clients in Ethiopia, Kenyan law. Their lawsuit cited the work of global internet Kazakhstan, and Myanmar — all environments in which monitoring organizations that specialize in tracking repressive authorities seek to curb dissent to stay in power. censorship. The judge overseeing the case issued an order Copying similar moves in China, Iran, and Russia, the to Kenya’s telecommunications providers to maintain government in Cambodia issued plans in May 2025 for the access to the internet and social media platforms while construction of the National Internet Gateway, a project the lawsuit proceeded—an important interim measure to first announced in 2021 that would centralize all internet safeguard free expression in the country. traffic through government-controlled chokepoints. In its own move to control the information landscape, the Internet freedom’s defenders need support Belarusian government ordered the blocking of all websites At this critical moment, the global community of hosted abroad during the researchers and advocates January 2025 presidential working to safeguard election, leaving people internet freedom faces new unable to reach key social headwinds.

In Russia, for example, authorities media platforms that might The U.S. government’s accelerated their efforts to isolate have provided independent decision to dismantle its people from the global internet, sources of news or enabled foreign aid institutions in domestic and crossearly 2025 resulted in the part of a negative trend that has border communication. termination of its support earned the country the largest 15Belarusian authorities also for internet freedom year decline recorded in approved a Russian-style programming, a longplan to establish “digital standing priority across Freedom on the Net. sovereignty” by 2030. multiple Republican Party and Democratic Party Civil society pushes administrations. The cuts back against growing digital authoritarianism entailed the cessation of funding to experts developing As censorship technology grows more sophisticated anticensorship technology and encrypted communication and widespread, civil society has led the charge to tools, as well as organizations that assisted journalists, safeguard free expression and access to information, activists, and others under threat for the content they posted sometimes working alongside partners in government and online. (Freedom House was among the organizations the private sector. materially affected by the freeze in US foreign assistance, Civil society researchers and technologists have a which included the removal of funding for Freedom on long track record of examining censorship technology the Net and our broader emergency-support programs for and tactics in order to respond with new tools that human rights defenders.) protect privacy and other fundamental freedoms online.

Freedom on the Net 2025 marks 15 consecutive Researchers at Great Firewall Report, a censorship years of decline in global internet freedom, but it is still monitoring platform, have documented how Chinese possible to halt and reverse this trend. The survival of a authorities and companies develop and deploy methods free and open internet will require sustained commitment for restricting the internet, as with a May 2025 report and collaboration by democratic governments, the private in which they explained that some Chinese provincial sector, and civil society, including a reimagining of the governments were blocking 10 times more websites than funding architecture behind the organizations and expert the national-level Great Firewall. Meanwhile, Russian groups that have long galvanized global resilience in the dissidents have started a project called VPN Generator that face of online censorship.

RF creates a multitude of VPNs, each serving a few hundred users, which makes it more difficult for the Kremlin to cut Kian Vesteinsson is Senior Research Analyst, Technology off access to such anticensorship technology. and Democracy, and Grant Baker is Research Analyst for Civil society organizations also play a key role in Technology and Democracy at Freedom House. The article preventing governments from pursuing more aggressive originally appeared on the Freedom House website.

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From the Archives

Done on the Cheap

The 24/7 news cycle and its impact on politics today

by DAN RATHER The ongoing presidential election campaign will be, most threaten our news and our politics. Among by its end, the longest in American history. It will also these are: the growth of soft news, infotainment, and be the campaign to receive the most media coverage celebrity coverage; the filling of time with video – an inevitability owing to the omnipresence of media footage masquerading as news stories; and the in-studio and the accumulation of network and cable news shouting matches that, these days, pass for reasoned hours, column inches, and web pages over the many debate of political positions.

This is a short list days that will have passed of areas that should give between the candidates’ particular concern (and announcement speeches one from which network and Election Day. news — in which your We might ask what writer spent 44 years as relation all this quantity has a correspondent, anchor, to quality: Does more equal and managing editor — better? Or does more, in cannot be and should not be this case, actually amount exempted). Taken together, to less? they lend themselves to The advent of 24/7/365 a news environment in news coverage, with the which the primary focus proliferation of cable news of political coverage is on stations that followed process (e.g., fundraising, CNN’s launch in 1980, has polls, campaign strategies carried a great but largely and image-building) rather Dan Rather unfulfilled promise to those than policy, in which who care about the state of “stories” such as the our nation and our world.

“Dean scream” are given The promise is — or, at If we as a nation truly feel prominence far beyond least, was — that, freed we deserve a higher level of their importance, and in from scheduling and time constraints, these outlets political discourse than we have which political discourse is reduced to opposing and (and the new media that seen in recent years, we must unyielding talking points in have followed) would direct our calls for change not a way that suits perfectly have a chance not only to the goals of political cover breaking news in only at our politicians, but also strategists but which does a way that the television at our news organizations and harm to this country and networks cannot or will those who own them. its citizens (including their not, but would also be able attitudes about politics and to devote time to a more ingovernment. depth exploration of news It must be recognized that the idea of 24/7 news stories that are either woefully condensed or passed over entirely by the networks’ half-hour, evening news coverage counts for little without the will to make programs or even their hour-long “magazine” programs. meaningful use of all that time and, significantly, the Instead, we have seen 24/7 news outlets play a resources to make that will a reality. A day in its entirety leading role in propagating many of the trends that amounts to a lot of time to fill. To gather, produce, and transmit news continually requires many highly22

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skilled and educated professionals and therefore a large would not touch them, if they do so in the context of payroll. To do it with a modicum of depth requires more reporting “what people are saying online.” of the same — having producers, correspondents, and On the news reporting side, the Internet sites of crew persons in sufficient numbers to devote a certain traditional publications and broadcasts (which are percentage of one’s news resources to exploring stories updated continuously, unlike their print and television that might not bear immediate fruit, such as investigative parents) and Internet-specific sites such as blogs serve pieces, or detailed, nuanced examinations of policy. If to generate, accelerate the growth of, and magnify the these resources were available and brought to bear, we apparent importance of stories of dubious value. And would come to understand that there really is no such so a political one-liner meant to provoke becomes, thing as a “slow news day” — there is always something overnight or over the course of a day, a fusillade of happening somewhere that bears closer examination, soundbites exchanged between candidates or partisan always a story that demands further scrutiny. interests — while substance and facts are crowded out.

The evidence, from the news we see emanating A speaking gaffe comes to dwarf a policy and serious from the eternal flicker of 24-hour news, suggests that discussion of its implications. And a lie, with apologies the resources that are being provided are not adequate to Mark Twain, gets halfway around the world while to realizing the promise of continuous coverage. the truth is still getting its boots on.

Indeed, what the troubling In a republic such as trends outlined above ours the news that comes have in common is they out of our most prominent News consumers, along are cheaper and easier news organizations is of to produce than news of fundamental importance. with journalists, news substance and depth.

What’s more, news executives, and the people and Unfortunately, this is consumers, along corporations who own news not only a matter of 24with journalists, news hour news media failing executives, and the people organizations, must understand to realize its potential; and corporations who that the constant proliferation there is, of course, room own news organizations, for improvement in how must understand that the of trivial stories, all day and everyone does the news. constant proliferation of every day, has an effect But a non-stop news cycle trivial stories, all day and on what goes into creates its own dynamic, every day, also has an one that amplifies the effect on what goes into the news. effects of cheap news and the news. It affects the way news done on the cheap. our candidates for elected The quick and easy “stories”— the aforementioned office communicate with us, and the ways in which whoop by Howard Dean during the 2004 campaign, those who gain office frame debates on issues touching the raft of syntactical miscues by President Bush on every aspect of our lives. This is the feedback loop through his campaigns and presidency, John Edwards’ of superficial coverage begetting superficial politics $400 haircut, and on and on — not only serve as a begetting superficial coverage that has enriched so sorry substitute for more substantial news; they also, many political media consultants while leaving our through the repetition and elaboration of the 24-hour democratic institutions the poorer. news media machine, lend our political debates and It has been said that a nation gets the politicians — campaigns an atmosphere of superficiality and lowest- and the politics — it deserves. If we as a nation truly common-denominator characterizations more befitting feel we deserve a higher level of political discourse a schoolyard than the democratic deliberations of the than we have seen in recent years, we must direct our world’s sole economic and military superpower. calls for change not only at our politicians, but also It is impossible to ignore the role (or roles) that at our news organizations and those who own them. the Internet, despite its own promise and the difficulty For it is they who facilitate and in no small degree of treating it as a monolith, has come to play in this make necessary the devolution of our campaigns and dynamic. On the news-gathering side, certain precincts our national conversations into divisive name calling, of the web offer a backdoor through which rumor empty talking points, and endless spin.

RF and innuendo can enter traditional news organs — unverified stories, at times conceived anonymously Dan Rather is a longtime journalist and the former anchor and therefore without hope of holding their authors to of the CBS Evening News. This essay originally appeared account, can be covered by journalists who otherwise in the December 2007 edition of The Ripon Forum.

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News & Events

Smith & Baumgartner Urge Bipartisan Approach to China Following Historic Trip to Beijing WASHINGTON, DC – Two members competing with them on, that they’re not work together on critical national of Washington State’s congressional doing things in the world that are deeply security issues. delegation – one Democrat and one problematic that we don’t need to deal Both congressmen bring substantial Republican – delivered a unified message with. But I think viewing this as a zero- credentials to discussions of foreign about the importance of sustained sum game is a mistake, and it’s a mistake policy and national security. Smith has engagement with China during remarks on China’s part too.” spent decades as one of Congress’s on December 1st at a dinner meeting of The bipartisan congressional leading voices on defense issues, having The Ripon Society and Franklin Center delegation’s visit to China came after served as Chairman of the House Armed for Global Policy Exchange. a six-year hiatus in House member Services Committee and currently U.S. Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA- travel to the country, during which the serving as its Ranking Member. His 9), the former expertise spans Chairman of the defense policy, House Armed military operations, Services Committee and global strategic and current challenges.

Ranking Member, Baumgartner, and Michael despite being in Baumgartner (Rhis first year in WA-5), a firstCongress, brings term member with deep international extensive foreign experience to his policy experience, role.

Between recently traveled a t t e n d i n g to Beijing as part Washington State of the first House University and delegation to visit Harvard University, Reps. Smith and Baumgarter address a dinner meeting of The China since 2019. he spent a year Ripon Society on December 1st.

In their remarks, with the Jesuits the two lawmakers in Mozambique emphasized doing development “It’s important to show the world that we do that while the work. He later United States worked in Iraq have some things we agree on, and that we faces significant and has extensive can work together and try to meet the national challenges in its experience in security interests of the U.S.” relationship with international China, the two development and Adam Smith, Remarks to nations must find foreign policy.

The Ripon Society, December 1, 2025 ways to peacefully “For somebody coexist and compete that does realize that in an increasingly it’s a big, messy, multipolar world.

U.S.-China relationship experienced dangerous Hobbesian world out there,” “China’s not going anywhere,” what Smith described as “significant Baumgarter said, “it’s just naive to Smith stated in remarks to kick off the deterioration.” The lawmakers said their think that we can close off and become discussion. “They’re a major economic trip was designed to reestablish dialogue, Fortress isolation America.” power. We have got to figure out how deliver clear messages about American During their meetings in China, the to coexist with them. That’s not to say resolve and interests, and demonstrate lawmakers emphasized several critical that we don’t have things that we’re that Republicans and Democrats can issues. They stressed the need for regular RIPON FORUM December 2025

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military-to-military contacts throughout our great research and all of our great challenge depends on Republicans and the chain of command – similar to technology because that way we can Democrats presenting a united front to protocols that existed during the Cold maintain our lead. The rest of the world the world.

War with the Soviet Union – to prevent can’t possibly catch up. I think that’s “One of the great problems as misunderstandings from spiraling into stupid,” Smith said bluntly. “We toured we face the rest of the world has been crises. a smartphone factory, and I’ve toured the difference between Trump’s not “During the Cold War with the a lot of factories in the U.S. It’s pretty president, Trump’s president, Trump’s Soviet Union, we had pretty regular impressive. They’ve got smart people not president, Trump’s president,” military-to-military contacts kind of all doing smart things.”

Smith observed. “The rest of the world up and down the chain,” Baumgartner Smith warned that overly restrictive is suffering a lot of whiplash about what explained. “And so that if something were policies could backfire, isolating the does that mean in terms of where the U.S. to happen, it didn’t spin out of control. United States from global markets is. How can they rely on us past a fourWhile President Trump and the Chinese and partnerships while failing to slow year cycle? The only way to break that chairman do have an is to get Republicans ability to talk directly and Democrats to work themselves, there aren’t together where we can.” the general frequent Baumgartner military contacts up echoed this sentiment, and down the chain of emphasizing the command. And that importance of framing was something that we America’s international articulated on our trip.” engagements in terms The lawmakers of national interest also delivered a in ways that resonate strong message about across party lines. the fentanyl crisis “For our voters,” he devastating American said, “what’s really communities. important is that we “Every member talk about what we do of Congress has here in Congress, what “Every member of Congress has someone someone in their we support, and how it community, probably is in the U.S. national in their community, probably multiple multiple members in interest.” members in their community that they their community that The two lawmakers know quite well on a personal level they know quite well have developed a strong on a personal level working relationship that has had their family devastated by that has had their through their travels, fentanyl.” family devastated by having also recently Michael Baumgartner, Remarks to fentanyl,” Baumgartner visited the Middle East noted, stressing that together, including The Ripon Society, December 1, 2025 additional Chinese stops in Iraq, the UAE, efforts to combat Qatar, and Bahrain. fentanyl production and trafficking are Chinese technological advancement. Their collaboration represents the kind of essential to improving bilateral relations. “When we place those limitations on bipartisan cooperation on foreign policy Smith and Baumgartner also pushed what we can get from China and what that both say is essential for effective back against what they characterized we can give to China, it hurts us in the American leadership in an increasingly as unrealistic approaches to managing rest of the world,” he argued. “The rest complex and multipolar world. the China challenge. Smith described of the world is trying to figure out who “Whether we like it or not,” Smith himself as a “de-risker and not a they should do business with. We are said, “we are a global power. We are decoupler,” expressing concern about isolating ourselves further and further, engaged with the rest of the world. And proposals that would dramatically curtail and I think we begin to fall behind and that engagement matters. It’s important economic and technological engagement lose that edge.” to show the world that we do have some with China.

Perhaps most significantly, both things we agree on, and that we can work “There’s a feeling in America that congressmen stressed that America’s together and try to meet the national we need to put our arm around all of ability to effectively manage the China security interests of the U.S.” RF 26

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Name: Brett Guthrie

Occupation: Representative for Kentucky’s Second Congressional District, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

Previous positions held: Service has always been a core part of who I am. After graduating high school, I joined the military graduating from West Point in 1987. Serving as a Field Artillery Officer in the 101st Airborne Division, alongside the men and women in uniform, was one of the greatest honors of my life.

After my military service, I went to work for my family’s manufacturing business, seeing firsthand what it takes to run a company and be responsible for the payroll of hundreds of Kentucky families.

Still feeling called to serve my community, in 1998 I successfully ran for the Kentucky State Senate, serving in Frankfort until running for Kentucky’s Second District in 2008.

Who in Congress (past or present) do you most admire and why? Leader McConnell. There are few people in public life that you can truly call a statesman, and Mitch McConnell is one of them.

Throughout his time in public service, Leader McConnell has stood for conservative principles and represented the people of Kentucky well.

Senator McConnell has always worked to deliver for our state, and I will always appreciate his decades of service.

You’ve served on Energy & Commerce since 2011 – how has the committee’s work evolved, and what surprised you most about chairing it? John Dingell had a saying that “if it moves it’s energy, and if it doesn’t it’s commerce.” My corollary to that is that it takes energy to move commerce. The committee’s jurisdiction is broad and touches every part of the economy. Just look at how technology and communications have changed since I joined the committee in 2011, not to mention innovations in health care.

The digital divide persists despite billions in federal investment – what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what would you do differently? We’ve spent a lot of time this Congress trying to clean up the mess we were left in the BEAD program. We’ve also advanced broadband permitting reform to help accelerate deployment in American communities.

Finally, what one bill or initiative would you like to see Congress pass that would make a positive difference in the lives of your constituents back home? As a father and a grandfather, I’m highly concerned by the digital threats kids are facing online.

We’re working to pass a full suite of bills that will empower parents, protect children, and hold companies accountable when they fail to keep kids safe. Earlier this Congress, we passed—and the President signed—the TAKE IT DOWN Act which targets the spread of explicit AI images meant to sexually harass and exploit children and teens online.

Our proposed legislation would ensure digital safety is the standard for kids, not a luxury. We will give parents stronger tools to protect their kids and ensure they have healthy internet habits. We will strengthen age verification standards, so children are not accessing adult websites.

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