No, That Isn't 'Rainbow Fentanyl' in Your Kid's Candy Stash
"I'm skeptical that [dealers] would try to target children where there is not an existing market," says Sally Satel.
Media Criticism
Ken Burns, Lynn Novick: How Closed Borders Helped Facilitate the Holocaust
A new PBS series underscores the long, deadly shadow cast by xenophobia, antisemitism, and restrictive immigration laws.
What Happens When Reporters Are Barred From the Story
Their articles do not, in fact, get more accurate.
How Closed Borders Helped Facilitate the Holocaust
A new PBS series by Ken Burns argues xenophobia, the Great Depression, incredulity toward the media, and State Department antisemitism combined to keep Jewish refugees out of America.
Hiring Formerly Incarcerated People Is Good, Actually
Some conservative media outlets and politicians lambast the practice. But if you care about public safety, that opposition doesn't make sense.
'I Have My Own Life': The Case for Legalizing Sex Work
It would be far easier to prosecute sex trafficking if voluntary sex work were legal.
Klobuchar's Media Bill Won't Save the Press
It'll just lend a hand to the outlets the senator prefers.
Fact-Checking Industry Continues Providing Cover for White House's Unbelievable IRS Claims
"Most" new IRS hires, claims a gullible FactCheck.org, "will provide customer services."
Biden Shouldn't Meet Xi Jinping in China. He Should Do It in America.
The U.S. may not realize it, but it has the upper hand. It turns out communism doesn't work.
Democrats Don't Trust 'the Police,' but They Do Trust the FBI, Provided It Is Targeting Donald Trump
As the response to the Mar-a-Lago raid illustrates, Republicans are inconsistent in the other direction.
Why Is Anyone Still Surprised That a Fox News Libertarian Is OK With Psychedelics?
The millennial news site called them hypocrites, but Greg Gutfeld and Kat Timpf have a long history of advocating drug legalization.
Big Tech's Ban on Alex Jones Fans the Flames of His Conspiracy Theories
Deplatforming controversial content is perfectly legal—and often counterproductive.
How Focusing on Rape-or-Incest Exceptions Distorts the Abortion Debate
The New York Times misleadingly claims that cases like the abortion sought by a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim "are not as rare as people think."
What The New York Times Didn't Say About Crypto Firm Kraken's Culture War
An explosive Times report alleged that Kraken CEO Jesse Powell created a "hateful workplace," leading to an employee exodus. Is that what really happened?
Would These 4 Gun Controls Prevent Mass Shootings?
An analysis of such crimes suggests the president’s policy prescriptions are unlikely to have a meaningful impact.
How a Baseball Non-Fight Illustrates Our Weird Journalistic Discourse on Racism
White player suspended for calling black player "Jackie"; many journalists conclude that the player (and Yankees fans!) are racist.
Netflix Airs Ricky Gervais' Controversial Standup, Chooses Actual Entertaining Over Woke Pandering
"The platform's choice to release this special now, during a wave of unprecedented anti-trans legislation, is unconscionable," according to Vox.
The Inevitable #MeToo Allegation Against Elon Musk Is Weak
It seems like an ambiguous episode that was handled appropriately.
Alex Epstein: Despite Climate Change, the Future Needs More Fossil Fuels
Coal, oil, and gas have contributed to global warming, but we can deal with their impact while letting them bring billions more up to middle-class living standards.
New York Times Columnist Gail Collins Proposes a 'Simple Battle' To 'Get Rid of the Guns'
It's not clear which guns she is talking about, and even Collins does not seem to know.
Nina Jankowicz's Faulty Record, Not Her Critics, Doomed the Disinformation Board
And The Washington Post's wildly one-sided account of Jankowicz's fall was an exercise in government PR.
Alito, Abortion, and Autonomy
Plus: ruminations on public health, misinformation, and media literacy
If Elon Musk Is 'Targeting' Twitter Employees, Isn't The Washington Post 'Targeting' Elon Musk?
If there is a headline, it should probably be: "Elon Musk Agrees With Twitter That Censoring the Hunter Biden Story Was Wrong."
MSNBC's Joy Reid Claims Elon Musk 'Misses' Apartheid-Era South Africa
If Musk was so fond for South Africa's segregationist policies, why did he refuse military conscription and jump ship to Canada as a teen?
The Northman Is a Bloody, Brutal, Brilliant Viking Revenge Epic
No moral judgment, just Viking honor, pagan ritual, and inevitable death.
The Case for Uber Surge Pricing After a Mass Shooting
In criticizing the move, the New York Post got basic economics wrong.
No, Mayor Eric Adams Can't Put Metal Detectors at Every NYC Subway Stop
Creating a TSA-like experience for every single New York City subway rider is one of the worst ideas floated in the wake of yesterday's tragic shooting.
Koch Network Smeared as Pro-Russia for Suggesting Sanctions Might Not Work
Progressive journalist Judd Legum wrongly framed Stand Together's statement as rooting for a partial Russian victory in Ukraine.
Why Is Facebook Censoring Articles About How BLM Used Donations To Buy a $6 Million House?
Reporting that makes Black Lives Matter look bad should not be covered up by social media companies.
The Media and Big Tech Covered Up These Stories. Where's the Reckoning?
Left-leaning outlets and tech giants tried to label them disinformation—until they no longer could.
No, Palm Springs Isn't Giving a Basic Income to Transgender and Nonbinary Residents
Palm Springs officials aren't off the hook for questionable decisions, but the spending isn't what it looks like.
From Iraq to Ukraine, the American Press Loves a War
Today's journalists aren't speaking truth to power by not-so-subtly agitating for direct military involvement in Ukraine.
The New York Times Admits That 'America Has a Free Speech Problem'
"Many on the left refuse to acknowledge that cancel culture exists at all," laments the paper.
The New York Times Belatedly Admits the Emails on Hunter Biden's Abandoned Laptop Are Real and Newsworthy
A year and a half after the New York Post broke the story, the Times says it has "authenticated" the messages it previously deemed suspect.
No, DOJ Shouldn't Investigate Tulsi Gabbard for 'False Russian Propaganda'
"Ukraine biolabs" is a textbook example of why the mainstream media's push to outlaw so-called disinformation is irresponsible.
A Judge Finds a 'Substantial Basis' for the Claim That Fox News Recklessly Promoted Trump's Election Fantasy
The decision allows Smartmatic to proceed with its defamation lawsuit against Fox, two anchors, and Rudy Giuliani.
YouTube Won't Distinguish Between Misinformation and Reporting, So It Suspended My Channel
The platform punished The Hill's morning show, Rising, for showing a clip of Trump speaking.
AOC: Facebook's 'Disinformation' Has 'Sabotaged' Pandemic Response
Another week, another set of allegedly democracy-protecting politicians trying to crack down on what the little people can say on social media.
The Campaign To Force Joe Rogan Off Spotify Is Already Backfiring
You're talking about him, aren't you?
How Many Supreme Court Justices Must Deny NPR's Reporting Before Media Outlets Believe Them?
John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, and Sonia Sotomayor have all denied Nina Totenberg's story about a SCOTUS dispute over masking.
Florida's COVID Policies Defied the Media's Narrative
Ron DeSantis killed people because Florida didn't impose tougher rules, we're told. But it's not true.
Everyone Deserves To Benefit from Medical Innovation. Yes, Even People Who Did Bad Things.
The New York Times and The Washington Post shamed the recipient of a pig heart transplant for committing a crime 35 years ago.
The Strategic yet Self-Defeating Hyperbole of 'Democracy in Peril' Journalism
As awful as things are, Trump is not Milošević, Republicans are not unified behind him, Stacey Abrams is not a hero, and every day is not January 6.
Ashli Babbitt's Violent Past Doesn't Justify Her Death
After the cops killed her, the A.P. gave her the "no angel" treatment.
Joe Biden Would Be a Better President if He Stopped Saying Things That Aren't True
And we would be better citizens if we called him out for it more.
Goodbye, Cuomos!
Last year may have been the year of the Cuomosexual, but 2021 rightly disabused people of the notion that New York's governor had their best interests at heart.
