today in tabs: the most powerful political influencers... aren't political influencers

ALSO: the misinfo that's wreaking havoc on Gen Z women, analysis of the TX Dem Sen primary on socials, operation bluebird, and more

Happy Friday, December 19th.

FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS FOR OPEN TABS :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), that would be so appreciated 🙏

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PROGRAMMING NOTE: I’ll be taking next Friday (12/26) off for the holidays! And then possibly will be OOO the first week of January and back on 1/9 (unless there’s just too much good/important stuff to yap about). On that OOO note, if you have recs for Dublin or Ireland in general, please send them my way!

ICYMI, I returned to my old stopping grounds this week for a FWIW send! Dropping an excerpt on my digi analysis of the Dem Texas primary battle below 👇

As of Wednesday (12/17), Rep. Crockett had a combined total of 6,293,600 followers across these platforms, and State Rep. Talarico had 4,589,900. TikTok and Instagram were the largest platforms for both, with Crockett clocking in at 2 million on Instagram and 2.2 million on TikTok, and Talarico at 1.7 million on Instagram and 1.5 million on TikTok. These are obviously incredibly strong numbers for each, with Crockett slightly beating out Talarico (with regard to followers) on each platform – interestingly, with the exception of YouTube, where Talarico has 187,000 subscribers to Crockett’s 75,700.

Full newsletter here :)

Democrats Won in 2025. They’re Still Not Ready for 2026.

If Democrats treat 2025 as the finish line rather than the starting gun, they’ll squander the real lesson of this moment. The campaigns that win the next decade won’t just crank out more content or slightly better ads—they’ll build lightweight, AI-enabled machines that listen at scale, translate what they hear into narratives that feel true in people’s lives and empower thousands of everyday messengers to carry those narratives into their own communities. That’s not a marginal upgrade to the old playbook. It’s a different theory of how campaigns work. (Campaigns & Elections, 12/18)

• Lucy’s note: I’m not in 100% agreement with all of this – but it is important food for thought

Sleepy. Divisive. A fan of young Trump: A look at the new plaques on the Presidential Walk of Fame

President Donald Trump has affixed partisan plaques to the portraits of all U.S. commanders in chief, himself included, on his Presidential Walk of Fame at the White House, describing Joe Biden as “sleepy,” Barack Obama as “divisive” and Ronald Reagan as a fan of a young Trump. (AP, 12/17)

Melissa Hortman Died in a Shocking Act of Political Violence. This Is the Story of Her Life

Let me tell you about Melissa Hortman. It is the summer of 2024. Hortman is now the speaker of the Minnesota House. She has just been instrumental in passing the Minnesota Miracle, a “holy shit” 30-point piece of legislation that protects and offers a hand up to the state’s neediest citizens. Now, she is at a retreat along with the other members of her Democratic Farmer Labor caucus. There is much to celebrate, perhaps too much. A legislator knocks back one too many of Hortman’s Patron Silver margaritas. The next morning, he is, let us say, unwell. She knocks on his hotel door and leaves him some Advil. (Rolling Stone, 12/18)

• Lucy’s note: more of these stories, please! we can’t let rising, horrific political violence steal our ability to truly remember the people we’ve lost

The Most Powerful Politics Influencers Barely Post About Politics

The study was conducted with 4,716 Americans aged between 18 and 45, most of whom were randomly assigned a list of progressive content creators to follow. Over the course of five months, from August to December 2024, these creators produced nonpartisan content designed to educate followers rather than explicitly advocate for a specific political viewpoint. The results showed that exposure to these progressive-minded creators not only increased general political knowledge, but also shifted followers’ policy and partisan views to the left. (WIRED, 12/17)

Oscars Bolts From ABC to YouTube Starting in 2029

As part of the newly inked deal, YouTube will broadcast not only the Oscars ceremony itself — which generated $150 million in revenue for the Academy during the fiscal year that ended on June 30, the vast majority via the TV rights deal with Disney — but also a significant amount of related content. (The Hollywood Reporter, 12/17)

The ChatGPT app store is here

For something more interactive, however, you’d look for ChatGPT apps like the ones that launched in October for Spotify, Zillow, and other services, some of which are now available in more markets, like Spotify in ChatGPT, which now works “in the UK, Switzerland, and throughout the EU.” New additions include an Apple Music app, which can help all users find music or make playlists and manage subscribers’ music libraries from within the chatbot, and DoorDash, which can turn “recipe inspiration, meal planning, and weekly staples into an actionable shopping cart” in the same window. (The Verge, 12/17 – free version)

X Corp sues social media startup over bid to claim ‘Twitter’ brand

Elon Musk’s X Corp sued a startup on Tuesday after it sought to cancel X’s Twitter trademarks so it can “bring Twitter back” as a new social media platform. X said in the lawsuit, opens new tab in Delaware federal court that its Twitter brand is still “alive and well” and “not ripe for the picking,” and that Operation Bluebird’s attempt to “steal” the name constituted trademark infringement. (Reuters, 12/16)

• Lucy’s note: Operation Bluebird, I am with you, what can we do to help!!

What 200 Gen Z Women Told Me About Birth Control Should Alarm Every Woman in America

Scroll through TikTok long enough and you’ll see it: influencers warning that “birth control ruined my hormones,” or wellness coaches promoting cycle tracking as a “natural” alternative to the pill. These videos might look harmless—or even empowering—but a recent study from La Trobe University found that over 70 percent of contraceptive content on TikTok is misleading or false. (Ms. Magazine, 12/17)

Discount stores are having a moment in America, drawing high- and low-income consumers alike

In Walmart’s third-quarter earnings, executives outlined a croissant craze that led the retailer to “remove the shelf” for the baked goods due to the sheer volume being shifted. The example highlighted the growth driven by “upper- and middle-income households,” dubbed the “gentrification of Walmart” by Quartz. (Sherwood, 12/17)

People Are Injecting Themselves With an Experimental New Weight Loss Drug

Retatrutide, a new weight loss from Eli Lilly, isn’t even out yet. For tht matter, it hasn’t even finished human clinical trials. But it’s already garnered a cult-like following, Wired reports, with adherents swearing by its miraculous benefits. (Futurism, 12/17)

Is Cognitive Dissonance Actually a Thing?

In studies of cognitive dissonance with open-ended designs, participants seem to relieve their discomfort in a diversity of ways. In a 2024 study, supporters of Donald Trump were asked about allegations that the President had engaged in sexual misconduct and illegal activity. Some rejected the claims as lies; others said that they didn’t care about the President’s sex life, or that all Presidents are involved in “unscrupulous activity that we don’t hear about.” A minority said that they would no longer support him. (The New Yorker, 12/17 – free version)

Science has always been marketed, from 18th-century coffeehouse demos of Newton’s ideas to today’s TikTok explainers

I call this process the marketization of moral authority: when historically sacred or ostensibly impartial institutions such as science, religion and education increasingly organize themselves as markets, adopting promotional, pricing and product logics to secure their legitimacy, authority, appeal and funding. None of this effort is inherently bad. As in Newton’s time, effective marketing communications can make complex work accessible and even inspiring. (The Conversation, 12/15)

Extra Credit 🤓

Some newsletters I thought were excellent recently:

• “Why “Affordability” Is the Wrong Word for This Crisis” from Evelyn Quartz

• “Waymo and Tesla’s self-driving systems are more similar than people think” from Timothy B. Lee

• “11 Gifts for the 11th Hour” from the Selleb Sisters

  • best one I’ve seen!

That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Tuesday!