The Meaning of Kony 2012
The Kony 2012 campaign pioneered a new form of online activism — one that served empire more than the people it claimed to help.
20406 Article(s) by: Elizabeth Mahony
The Race for the Arctic Is Undermining Indigenous Rights
The Arctic region is becoming a theater for competition between states over its resources and geopolitical advantages. This is having a deeply harmful impact on the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, whose way of life doesn’t fit in with state borders.
Trump Tramples Free Speech to Shut Down Palestine Protests
Donald Trump and his allies are claiming to restore “free speech” in America even as they yank federal funding from Columbia University to punish student protesters. They were never serious about defending free speech.
IVF Patients Might Be Getting Scammed by Private Equity
IVF patients say they’ve faced pressure to perform expensive genetic tests on their embryos as private equity firms buy up fertility clinics across the US. A new class action lawsuit alleges that the benefits of these tests were greatly exaggerated.
Fighting “Waste” Is an Age-Old Alibi for Austerity
Donald Trump is using the idea of stopping “waste, fraud, and abuse” as an excuse for drastic austerity. The rhetorical strategy has a long history in the US — stretching back to Southern elites’ push to delegitimize Reconstruction as a cash grab.
The Great Interest Rate Heist
When the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, banks charge more for loans — but often don’t pay higher rates to depositors. This scheme has allowed banks to pocket a more than $1 trillion windfall over the past two and a half years.
Jacobin Writer Jailed 5 Days for Criticizing Israel
The Right’s newfound love of censorship proves what many suspected: its free speech absolutism was always conditional. Just ask Jacobin contributor Yves Engler, recently jailed in Canada for five days for online criticism of Israel’s supporters.
WNBA Athletes Are Done With Being Underpaid
The WNBA is more popular than ever. On the back of this success, and with rival leagues threatening to outbid it by offering athletes higher pay, the WNBA’s union has decided to use its strong position to renegotiate a contract for better pay and benefits.
Cuba Sends Doctors, the US Sends Sanctions
The United States calls Cuba’s medical internationalism “human trafficking” — but it’s really an internationalist lifeline for the Global South.
Israel Is Using Starvation as a Weapon to Break Gaza
By blocking aid and threatening to resume its war on Gaza, Israel has systematically undermined the cease-fire. It is now using starvation as a tool of coercion to force Palestinian capitulation and advance the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.
Donald Trump Is Launching an Assault on Social Security
Despite his previous rhetoric to the contrary, it’s clear that Donald Trump is trying to finally be the one to successfully carry out the long-standing GOP goal: destroying Social Security.
Veterans Are Starting to Mobilize Against Trump’s Cuts
Military veterans are among those being hit hardest by Trump’s austerity push, which threatens many of their jobs as well as health care and other benefits. The cuts are starting to mobilize the conservative-leaning demographic against the administration.
I’m Still Here Is an Incredibly Deserving Oscar Winner
I’m Still Here is a stirring tribute to the Brazilian people’s resistance to military dictatorship — and their unwillingness to give up their hard-won democracy.
Black Workers Need Public Employment, Not Black Capitalism
Public unionized employment is the backbone of the black middle class. Racial justice advocates should direct resources to fighting Elon Musk’s attacks on good union jobs — not toward protecting DEI initiatives focused on black entrepreneurship.
François Bayrou Under Fire Over School Abuse Scandal
Dozens of statements to a French court tell of decades of sexual abuse at a Catholic school. The case has also created a political crisis, with media allegations that today’s prime minister François Bayrou knew what was going on but failed to act.
Why Donald Trump Has Turned on Europe
For decades, European leaders fostered a willing dependence on the United States that has made the continent acutely vulnerable to the superpower’s whims. Donald Trump has sensed this weakness and is using it to advance his own narrow interests.
You’ve Already Paid for Overpriced Weight-Loss Drugs
The federal government has spent $6.2 billion on research and development for weight-loss drugs. Now, thanks to Big Pharma markups, Americans are paying up to 11 times more for these drugs than patients in other countries, despite already footing the bill.
The Democratic Opposition Should Look More Like Rep. Al Green
In interrupting Donald Trump’s speech to Congress, Rep. Al Green showed more vigor in opposing the president’s undemocratic, anti-worker agenda than any other act since Inauguration Day. Democrats should emulate Green, not censure him.
Democrats Should Constantly Talk About a Minimum Wage Hike
An obvious way to win the support of the working class is to support some actual pro-worker policies. An obvious starting point: raising the minimum wage, and well above $15 an hour.
Democrats Still Don’t Get Why Trump Won
Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, many Democrats are certain that what cost Kamala Harris the 2024 election was bigotry in the “flyover states.” And that misunderstanding is only going to lock them out of power longer.