I partnered with the Rainey Center to poll 1,008 Americans on AI, media consumption, and tech policy heading into 2026. The toplines looked coherent. The crosstabs told a completely different story. Here are the six contradictions that stood out: 🧵1/3

I'm looking for some good examples of AI disclosure policies that writers, media and others have made public to share how they use AI in their work. What are your favorites?

We're in the last throes of where we were as a society versus where we're going when it comes to the impact of AI. It’s called the extinction burst. In my latest Off the Record Briefing, I break down the real problems we need to be thinking about. anchorchange.substack.com/p/the-ai-ext...

@axios.com is reporting that the WH will turn all their digital assets into "Trump TV" today for 12 hours before the SOTU. This is one of the smarter digital things Trump has done, going back to the 2016 debates, to own the viewer journey from start to finish. www.axios.com/newsletters/...

This week, I'm publishing my 2026 AI & Election Tech Forecast—focused intelligence on how major platforms are navigating the collision of AI, elections, and content moderation. Up first: Meta. What I'm watching: 💰 $65 million in corporate spending on pro-AI candidates 1/3

If you missed my conversation with Chris Cillizza (@chriscillizza.bsky.social) yesterday about AI, tech and the midterms the recording is now up! chriscillizza.substack.com/p/2026-will-...

Politics is heavy. The pace of AI is exhausting. We're at the start of what might be the most consequential four-year cycle for tech and politics we've seen yet. In my latest newsletter, I break down what's actually different this time. open.substack.com/pub/anchorch...

America's digital empire has a trust problem. U.S. hyperscalers' future may depend less on the commercial deals they strike and more on their commitment to protect the democracy that made their global dominance possible. My latest for @wpr.bsky.social www.worldpoliticsreview.com/us-hyperscal...

"Which events should I attend in 2026?" Here's my framework of what I do before, during and after attending something. Later this week, I’m sending subscribers a full list of the calendar of events I’m tracking in 2026. Sign up to be the first to get it! anchorchange.substack.com/p/how-i-deci...

Over the weekend I used Zentropi to build a labeler that blocks requests to use AI to undress or sexualize real people. The labeler itself took maybe 30 minutes to a first solid draft, with another 30 minutes of tweaking. In my testing it's got an F1 of .98 on real examples pulled from X. 🧵 1/6

Trust in the word I keep hearing for 2026. In my new Off the Record briefing I explore: ➡️ Why “trust” is becoming an infrastructure layer ➡️ How agents are quietly becoming the new editors ➡️ What 2026’s AI-native election cycle will look like open.substack.com/pub/anchorch...

15K followers (+58%) from 93 countries, 163 posts, and 22 podcasts. Thank you for showing up to navigate tech, democracy & impossible tradeoffs with me. 2026 = book launch + figuring out what's next. Here's to the risks we take. Have a lovely holidays!🥂 open.substack.com/pub/anchorch...

Pantone's 2026 Color Choice Cloud Dancer Is More Political Than You Think It may seem like a design story, but color forecasting is actually cultural intelligence. It captures how people are feeling before they know how to articulate it. Go deeper ... anchorchange.substack.com/p/the-color-...

Your East Wing construction update.

Thrilled to have contributed to the just-released Online Safety Report 2026 ahead of the Trust & Safety Summit! My piece: how gen AI, global regs & evolving user expectations are outpacing social media safety systems 🚀🔥 open.substack.com/pub/anchorch...

AI is rewriting the rules of journalism and the ethics we rely on. This episode with Katy Culver (UW-Madison) and @robreich.bsky.social breaks down what’s changing and why it matters. anchorchange.substack.com/p/how-are-et...

Meta's statement on Judge Boasberg's decision.

Got upgraded to seat 1D again. Here’s your East Wing construction update.

Content policies are usually private, one-off efforts. You build yours, I build mine, we don't share much about what works or why. This makes sense given products can (and should) set different policies based on their communities, but it leaves us reinventing the wheel. 🧵 1/5

Excited to have @daphnek.bsky.social join me on the Anchor Change podcast this week to talk about the law and online speech including how trust and safety is becoming a compliance function. open.substack.com/pub/anchorch...

Just dropped my latest on the 10 Political Digital Trends for 2026. Key trends include: -> More platforms = more content. -> YouTube > Websites. -> AI video gloves are off. -> Websites optimizing for LLMs. What are your 2026 predictions? anchorchange.substack.com/p/the-10-pol...

I didn’t plan to break news. I just looked out the window. I was flying out of DCA and saw the East Wing being demolished. I took a photo, posted it, and by the time I landed, it was on CNN. It's wild how fast one moment can move — and how something so ordinary can make the world pay attention.

Picture of the East Wing demolition of the White House taken on my flight out of DCA.

$7 Latte Problem Killing Community Sarah Stamper from Murmuration joins me this week to discuss how Gen Z is redefining civic engagement and the decline of third spaces that are crucial to civic life, but disappearing partly due to the cost of entry. open.substack.com/pub/anchorch...

Same Wi-Fi. Five screens. Five different worlds. 👵 A Boomer watching the evening news 👩‍💻 A Gen Xer on YouTube 👩‍🎤 A Millennial reading a newsletter while half-watching Netflix 🧑‍🎓 A Gen Zer scrolling TikTok + Discord 🧒 A Gen Alpha remixing a video on a tablet anchorchange.substack.com/p/how-each-g...

AI isn’t replacing editors or journalists—it’s redefining how we work together. On Anchor Change, I talk with Cory Ondrejka, CTO of SmartNews, about balancing AI and human judgment, designing for trust, & reimagining how we consume news. 🎧 Listen: anchorchange.substack.com/p/balancing-...

Why The Future of Feeds Will Change Your Marketing Strategy → The feed escaped social media → AI is curating content across the internet → Video dominates, but text trains LLMs → AI-Driven Advertising → The 2026 midterms will spike your ad costs anchorchange.substack.com/p/the-future...

I use AI every day—and still have complicated feelings about it. Am I using it too much in my writing? Do I understand the privacy trade-offs? Why does it still make me uneasy? Shira Ovide captures this tension beautifully in her new Washington Post piece. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

A quick pulse check: The ground keeps shifting on speech, AI & 2026. Old playbooks don’t cut it anymore. So tell me—what’s really keeping you up at night? Not the “shoulds,” but the real stuff: politics at work, what AI means for your job, or planning when nothing feels certain.

When @wired asked me to look at Silicon Valley in the age of Trump, I saw the crash of the idealism that originally drew founders--and me--to the tech revolution. Selling out the dream will not serve those moguls (or us) well. www.wired.com/story/silico...

Nick Clegg's new book, How to Save the Internet, is a clear policy manifesto—strong on fallacies, tradeoffs, and global context. But it sidesteps the political + leadership choices shaping tech today. My review: anchorchange.substack.com/p/a-policy-b...

#BREAKING: C-SPAN is coming to YouTube and Hulu this fall! Press Release: www.C-SPAN.org/YouTubeTV Press Release: www.C-SPAN.org/Hulu

When I hit a wall writing my book, Chelsey Pippin Mizzi helped me find my way back to my voice. Her book Tarot for Creativity became a tool I returned to again and again—not to predict the future, but to get unblocked. 🎧 Listen to our conversation! anchorchange.substack.com/p/tarot-for-...

For 17 years working in trust and safety, I've watched talented people burn out on impossible tasks. The problem isn't the people, it's the systems. Traditional moderation requires months of retraining for every policy change. Only big companies can afford it, and even then it works poorly. 🧵 1/9

So honored to have Kate Hill on the pod this week. From puppeteer to barge captain to retreat host, she’s crafted a life of reinvention. Her story is proof we don’t pivot once—we pivot forever. Your best chapter may still be ahead. anchorchange.substack.com/p/the-journe...

Good piece from Ireland on what Meta's political ad ban in the EU will lead to, and how citizens, campaigns and democracy will lose out. www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...

Some think trust & safety workers should speak out more. And while we do need voices, we also need quiet work—the kind done with care, without credit. I want you to know: I see you. You are the ones in the arena. And that’s what still gives me hope. anchorchange.substack.com/p/in-the-are...

Ofcom tomorrow morning.

Mark your calendars for *Friday, Sept. 26* and join us for "Journalism Ethics in a Fracturing World," our free conference focused on journalism ethics in the face of fragmentation, increasing authoritarianism and disappearing and unreliable data. ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/2025/07/28/j...

Meta banning political and issue ads in Europe due to new regulations. about.fb.com/news/2025/07...

Super important report out of Muck Rack about what sources - including Substacks - different AI models are citing in their results. www.axios.com/2025/07/23/a...

What if your business could be both wildly successful and soulfully aligned? In this episode, I talk with Rachael James, the founder of Wild Alabaster and Urban Alchemy Coffee Co., about building brands that are beautiful and healing. open.substack.com/pub/anchorch...

Ahead of TrustCon, I’m excited to have my friend Charlotte Willner on the podcast this week to talk all things trust and safety. open.substack.com/pub/anchorch...

As we head into TrustCon, I share five predictions about where the trust and safety field is going — including quieter comms, messier geopolitics, and a growing wave of independent careers. open.substack.com/pub/anchorch...

💡“I feel seen.” Jen Pahlka’s book Recoding America hit home for thousands of public servants who’ve felt silenced, burned out, and ignored. This is the power of truth-telling. Hear the full story on the latest Anchor Change podcast. anchorchange.substack.com/p/hope-in-go...

🎧 Just dropped a new episode of Anchor Change with Steve Grove—and it’s all about reinvention, risk, and the power of going local. Plus his new book: How I Found Myself in the Midwest open.substack.com/pub/anchorch...

Today isn’t just the halfway point of the year, we are now closer to 2050 than we are 2000. ➡️ Will you be on the path you meant to walk? ➡️ Will you have taken the leap? ➡️ Will you have stayed connected? open.substack.com/pub/anchorch...

More and more journalists, pundits, and creators are leaving traditional media to go solo—and many are choosing Substack. I talked to co-founder Hamish McKenzie about this shift for my latest podcast. 🎧 Listen: open.substack.com/pub/anchorch...

🚨 CCCR has a new survey report out today! 🚨 "100 Days Under Trump: Public Reactions to Attacks on American Governance & Institutions" The report draws on our Apr/May YouGov panel survey of US adults, following our Oct 2024 survey w/ recontacts + a sample refresh. 1/ cccr.wisc.edu/wp-content/u...

Summer reading mission: activated 📚 I'm looking for books that'll keep me glued to the page whether I'm poolside or on my couch at 2am. Fiction lovers and non-fiction nerds—this is your moment to shine! What should definitely make it onto my list?