Project on Ethics in Political Communication
@policommethics.bsky.social
The Project on Ethics in Political Communication in the School of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University promotes the study, teaching and practice of political communication ethics. The Project is led by Peter Loge, @ploge
Journalists should never be afraid to cover the news. Political leaders and pundits should condemn threats and attacks against journalists. UK journalists ‘self-censoring stories about Trump and the right over safety fears’ | Journalist safety | The Guardian share.google/f473h0PUveTz...
UK journalists ‘self-censoring stories about Trump and the right over safety fears’
Government-backed investigation finds risks are normalised amid ‘a narrowing of the public conversation’
share.google
Governments punishing people because they don't like their politics is wrong. This isn't how democracies behave. Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him
Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.
nytimes.com
A call for ethical use of AI in campaigns from a political consultant: "The debate we should be having is not whether AI belongs in politics. The debate is whether campaigns are willing to be accountable for their use of it." campaignsandelections.com/voices/campa...
Campaigns Need AI Guardrails Before the 2026 Midterms
The political debate over artificial intelligence has focused on the easiest danger to understand: fake videos, fake voices and campaign ads that make voters question what is real. That fear […]
campaignsandelections.com
Fake AI generated images aren't wrong because they're generated with AI, they're wrong because their fake. Candidates shoudn't try to deceive voters, full stop. www.firstalert4.com/2026/07/20/a...
AI-generated political ad in St. Charles County raises deepfake questions ahead of primary election
With two weeks until Election Day, a fully AI-generated political ad targeting candidates in the St. Charles County executive race is drawing scrutiny over the role of deepfakes in local elections
firstalert4.com
Of course there shouldn't be an entire industry devoted to lobbying for presidential pardons. That this is even being discussed is appalling. www.npr.org/2026/07/19/n... @ayesharascoe.bsky.social
$600,000 for a presidential pardon? Inside the growing industry of clemency lobbying
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with NOTUS reporter Jasmine Wright about the growing lobbying industry to get presidential pardons under the second Trump administration.
npr.org
Is there an ethical difference between talking to a chatbot and a volunteer? If the point is a voter getting information they're looking for in a way that makes sense to them, why does it matter where that information is coming from or how it's being delivered? www.npr.org/2026/07/12/n... @npr.org
Political text messages could get more effective and annoying. Blame AI
Taught to sound like a candidate, bots are engaging voters with personalized text messages, making AI-generated texting conversations the latest tool political campaigns are using to connect.
npr.org
It's good to see a candidate urging his supporters to focus on issues and not personal attacks. But this raises questions of what counts as personal and who gets to say it. Candidates and campaigns are far from perfect, it's good to see one at least trying. www.mediaite.com/politics/ple...
‘Please Stop’: Progressive Michigan Candidate Asks Supporters to Stop Attacking Opponent Personally
Michigan Democratic congressional candidate Abdul El-Sayed urged his supporters to avoid taking personal digs at his opponent.
mediaite.com
Threatening the media because you don't like what they report (or don't report) is fundamentally undemocratic. www.politico.com/news/2026/07...
Trump’s threats to revoke TV licenses get serious
Brendan Carr is already scrutinizing TV broadcasters, but he may have to be careful echoing the president’s political grievances, legal experts say.
politico.com
Trying to influence the opposition party's primary is a popular Democratic tactic increasingly used by Republicans. Is it only deceptive if those funding the efforts hide their identity? If the ad said "Paid for by Republicans for Hong" would it be OK? www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/u...
G.O.P. Appears to Boost Socialist’s Primary Campaign for Wisconsin Governor
Republicans seem to view Francesca Hong as their weakest opponent in a general election. They are spending $2.2 million in an apparent attempt to aid her primary campaign.
nytimes.com
The ethical questions raised by AI in politics aren't entirely about AI. "But image and video generators didn’t invent schmaltzy right-wing visual propaganda; they only made it cheaper, easier, and faster." The Slop Doctrine open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...
The Slop Doctrine
Why the right has overwhelmingly embraced terrible AI-generated imagery.
open.substack.com
Public servants need to be, and need to appear to be, above reproach. www.propublica.org/article/para...
FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar Deals
Accepting tickets to the Kennedy Center honors gala compromised the commissioners’ impartiality, ethics experts told ProPublica. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has been gifted at least $63,000 worth of ticket...
propublica.org
Racist nonesense like this should be called out and condemned by people across the political spectrum. www.miaminewtimes.com/news/fishbac...
Fishback adds to list of racially charged scandals in Florida Gov. race
Davie's own James Fishback most recently used the word "chimp" to describe GOP opponent Byron Donalds (who is Black).
miaminewtimes.com
The President is undermining faith in US elections. This weakens democracy and sets up arguments for further restricting voting. It is dangerous and shoud be called out across the political spectrum. Takeaways From Trump’s Address Claiming Election Vulnerabilities www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/u...
Takeaways From Trump’s Speech Claiming Election Vulnerabilities and China Interference
Documents released by the Trump administration to support the president’s claims did not back up his most aggressive statements.
nytimes.com
Lying about past elections creates distrust in future elections. www.cnn.com/2026/07/15/p...
Analysis: Trump’s address is likely to cast new cloud over midterm elections | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump has passed up multiple chances to explain to Americans how his latest escalation will win the war in Iran or how he’ll alleviate their perpetually high costs for groceries, hous...
cnn.com
Elected officials and political pundits should clearly condemn threats and violence - not just issue general statements or criticize those with whom they disagree anyway. Takeaways From Rare Congressional Testimony by Two Supreme Court Justices www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/u...
Takeaways From Justices Kagan and Barrett’s Congressional Testimony on Supreme Court Security
Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett, the first Supreme Court justices to testify since 2019, talked about ethics and security threats during collegial hearings.
nytimes.com
Claims that elections were rigged without any evidece undermine faith in a fundamental democratic institution. Losing an election doesn't prove anyone cheated any more than winning an election does. www.forbes.com/sites/sarado...
Musk Boosts Spencer Pratt’s Claims Of ‘Legalized Election Fraud’ In LA Mayoral Race
Mail-in ballots counted after Election Day swung the race in favor of Pratt’s opponents.
forbes.com
A prophetic civil religion can be foundation for ethical political communication - politics can be a story rooted in ideas and always working toward shared ideals. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | America has a religion. Revive it.
America isn’t a Christian nation. But it has never been strictly secular.
washingtonpost.com
Attempts to intimidate journalists and media organizations because they report on things that make powerful people uncomfortable are undemocratic.
CNN@cnn.com · 4w agoFour New York Times journalists who reported on security concerns surrounding a Qatari-gifted jet serving as the new Air Force One have been subpoenaed by the Justice Department, the news outlet reported Friday. https://cnn.it/4f7Jjyb
It should go without saying that campaign staff shouldn't bet on races on which they're working - or bet on politics at all. www.npr.org/2026/07/09/n...
Campaign staffers keep trying to bet on races despite push to curb insider trading
Kalshi says it has blocked "dozens" of trades from campaign insiders, but experts say the company's approach leaves lots of potential loopholes. NPR has found at least one trade that slipped through.
npr.org
Fear of political violence limits who is willing to run for office. Ignoring, condoning, or promoting political violence is undemocratic. "The rising tide of political violence against women is rewriting the pipeline of who gets to lead." campaignsandelections.com/uncategorize...
America Isn’t Ready For a Woman President. But Not For the Reason You Think
The rising tide of political violence against women is rewriting the pipeline of who gets to lead.
campaignsandelections.com
Pres. Trump has effectively shut down the agency that enforces campaign laws. "...the FEC remains idled: It still can’t investigate suspected scofflaws, formalize audits, issue fines, write rules, offer formal legal guidance or even conduct public meetings..." www.notus.org/campaigns/tr...
Trump Put the FEC on Ice; Its Return Remains an Open Question
Without enough commissioners or resources, the bipartisan election watchdog has been out of commission for a year and a revival doesn't appear to be on the horizon.
notus.org
Racist images have no place in American politics. They are offensive on their own and encourage others to behave in similar ways. Political leaders and pundits across the spectrum should condemn garbage like this. www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...
Trump posts a doctored photo portraying Obamas boarding Air Force One spray-painted with graffiti
This follows a previous racist post by Trump depicting the Obamas as primates, which was deleted after intense, bipartisan backlash.
pbs.org
No one who follows FIFA or Trump takes these innocence claims seriously. One of the problems of earning a reputation for corruption and unethical behavior is that even if you're telling the truth and being above board people may not believe you. www.politico.com/live-updates...
Infantino defends FIFA’s integrity against US red card corruption criticism
Infantino acknowledged discussing Balogun’s suspension with Trump but insisted the decision to reinstate the top American scorer was not the result of White House pressure.
politico.com
I'm a big soccer fan and think the red card was a terrible call, but the President of the United States shouldn't interfere with an independent organization or try to influence the outcome of the World Cup. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/05/u...
Trump Asked FIFA to Review U.S. Top Scorer’s Suspension. He Is Now Eligible to Play.
nytimes.com
People from around world come to the US to escape groups like this. Leaders and pundits across the political spectrum should clearly condemn this and similar groups. White Nationalists March in Washington Amid 250th Anniversary Celebrations www.nytimes.com/2026/07/04/u...
White Nationalists March in Washington Amid 250th Anniversary Celebrations
nytimes.com
Suggesting that someone doesn't deserve rights clearly articulated in the US Constitution because of where they are from - rights based on the premise that all men are created equal - is racist and un-American. www.al.com/politics/202...
Trump adviser flagged for ‘extreme racism’ over demeaning immigrants granted birthright citizenship
Stephen Miller was criticized as a "vile disgusting man with the ear of the president of the United States."
al.com
Baselessly questioning elections undermines trust in democracy. Without trust, democracy fails. F.B.I. Assigns Scores of Analysts to Examine Election Records in Georgia www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/u...
F.B.I. Assigns Scores of Analysts to Examine Election Records in Georgia
nytimes.com
Kudos to candidates, including political opponents, for condemning this racist ad in Phoenix. Major funding for the ad came from a Virginia based super-PAC called Conservatives for Effective Government whose donors are anonymous. www.fox10phoenix.com/news/politic...
Political ad targeting Kimberly Yee draws backlash for Asian stereotypes
An advertisement targeting Republican Kimberly Yee is drawing bipartisan condemnation for using racist stereotypes, drawing responses from Tom Horne and the Arizona Asian Chamber of Commerce.
fox10phoenix.com
Structures shape incentives, and incentives shape behavior. Legislative districts should represent voters, not protect political parties. This effort is a step in the right direction. problemsolverscaucus.house.gov/news/documen...
Problem Solvers Caucus Announces New Gerrymandering Working Group
problemsolverscaucus.house.gov
Political leaders and pundits should condemn this kind of behavior - democracy depends on debate, attacks like this are by definition undemocratic. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/u...
Pete Buttigieg Says He Was Separated From His Children After ‘Swatting’ Tip
nytimes.com