Democracy Happy Hour – March 17, 2021

03/10/2021 Topic: Social Media's Impact on Democracy

• Speaker View Recording

• Gallery View Recording

• Chat file

Upcoming Democracy Happy Hour Topics:

• 03/27/21 - Foreign Influence in U.S. Democracy
• 03/31/21 - Campaign Finance Reform

Actions, Events & Links:

• FDF Legislation Page - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/legislation
• For the People Act - Take Action - https://dfadcoalition.org/takeaction/
• Petition: Demand the Senate pass the For the People Act - https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-demand-the-senate-pass-the-for-the-people-act-and-rebuild-our-democracy?source=direct_link&referrer=group-fixdemocracyfirst
• Sign the Petition: Eliminate the undemocratic Senate filibuster - https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-eliminate-the-senate-filibuster?source=02012021swap-fdf&referrer=group-fixdemocracyfirst
• Speak Up School Series with Delta Kappa Gamma & LWVWA:
• Dave’s Redistricting App Map Drawing – March 25th @ 6-7:30 pm PT –
• https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_v7Qjq2ccQsi2z-rUMZN0ew
• Women in Leadership Events
• A Conversation On Women’s Political Leadership – March 18th @ 3 pm PT –
• https://reflect.us/conversation-womens-political-leadership/
• WA State Conversation on Representation of Women in Political Leadership – April 1st @ 5 pm PT: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Cxb9CVZkSzO0Dtifc7zywA
• The IF Project – Film Screening & Panel Discussion – April 6th @ 5 pm PT - https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_v-w1LYyDRXubOdrzgs2g7Q
• FDF Events Page - Past Events- https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/events#past-events
• FDF Donation Page - http://fixdemocracyfirst.org/donate

In the News & Election Links:

• Interactive Map Reveals Which Indigenous Lands You’re Living On - https://mymodernmet.com/interactive-map-indigenous-lands/ - Native Land - https://native-land.ca/

• Deb Haaland Confirmed As 1st Native American Interior Secretary - https://www.npr.org/2021/03/15/977558590/deb-haaland-confirmed-as-first-native-american-interior-secretary

• U.S. House passes bill that aims to advance Equal Rights Amendment - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-women/u-s-house-passes-bill-that-aims-to-advance-equal-rights-amendment-idUSKBN2B92QG?il=0

• Russia and Iran Tried to Influence 2020 Presidential Election, But China Did Not, Intelligence Report Says - https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/03/16/us/biden-news-today

• Justice Dept. calls Jan. 6 ‘Capitol Attack’ probe one of largest in U.S. history, expects at least 400 to be charged - https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/capitol-attack-investigation-largest/2021/03/12/5c07b46c-833d-11eb-9ca6-54e187ee4939_story.html

• How GOP-backed voting measures could create hurdles for tens of millions of voters - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/voting-restrictions-republicans-states/?

• Texas GOP launches avalanche of bills to curtail voting - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/texas-gop-launches-avalanche-bills-curtail-voting-n1260747

• GOP Election Bills Are Coming In North Carolina. How Far Will They Go? - https://www.wfae.org/politics/2021-03-14/gop-election-bills-are-coming-in-north-carolina-how-far-will-they-go

• The Georgia Republican Party wants to set voting rights back decades. Is your state next? - https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/03/15/biden-business-defend-black-voting-rights-from-republicans-column/4636042001/

• Georgia voting rights activists pressure big corporations to oppose GOP-backed ballot restrictions - https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/14/georgia-activists-pressure-big-corporations-to-oppose-voting-restrictions-.html

• The Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act case could gut civil rights protections. Then what? - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/15/supreme-courts-voting-rights-act-case-could-gut-civil-rights-protections-then-what/

• Schumer says ‘everything is on the table’ to pass voting rights legislation in Senate - https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/17/schumer-says-everything-is-on-the-table-to-pass-voting-rights-legislation-in-senate.html

• For Voting Rights Advocates, a ‘Once in a Generation Moment’ Looms - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/15/us/voting-rights-advocates-filibuster.html

• Congress Could Change Everything - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/congress-could-change-everything

• HR 1 doesn't go far enough. It still wouldn't make it easy being Green. https://thefulcrum.us/big-picture/for-the-people-act

• For Democracy to Stay, the Filibuster Must Go - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/11/opinion/us-filibuster-senate.html

• The Filibuster’s Ugly History and Why It Must Be Scrapped - https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/filibuster-biden-1142608/

• Sen. Raphael Warnock On Ending The Filibuster: 'All Options Must Be On The Table' - https://www.npr.org/2021/03/11/976109486/sen-raphael-warnock-on-ending-the-filibuster-all-options-must-be-on-the-table

• Biden says he supports reforming Senate filibuster in ABC News exclusive interview - https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-supports-reforming-senate-filibuster-abc-news-exclusive/story?id=76499156

• McConnell vows ‘scorched earth’ if Senate ends filibuster - https://www.wwnytv.com/2021/03/16/mcconnell-vows-scorched-earth-if-senate-ends-filibuster/

• US Protest Law Tracker - https://www.icnl.org/usprotestlawtracker/

• South emerges as flashpoint of brewing redistricting battle - https://www.startribune.com/south-emerges-as-flashpoint-of-brewing-redistricting-battle/600034411/?refresh=true

• 2022 Governors Races Could Be Armageddon for Voting Rights - https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/03/will-2022-governors-races-be-armageddon-for-voting-rights.html

• Why the For the People Act Is Critical for Fair Voting Maps - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/why-people-act-critical-fair-voting-maps

• Companies face calls to bring ‘dark money’ political spending into the light - https://fortune.com/2021/03/11/corporate-dark-money-political-spending-disclosure-citizens-united-esg-investing/

• Wall Street looks to quietly reopen wallets for politicians - https://www.pionline.com/elections/wall-street-looks-quietly-reopen-wallets-politicians

• Dark Money Judicial Influence Examined in Senate - https://www.courthousenews.com/dark-money-judicial-influence-examined-in-senate/

• Sheldon Whitehouse Is Following the Money Around Brett Kavanaugh - https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a35853157/sheldon-whitehouse-brett-kavanaugh-debts/

• PAC donations aren't just about money, they're about the time they buy - https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/542481-pac-donations-arent-just-about-money-theyre-about-the-time-they-buy?rl=1

• How Corporate Money Is Crippling Our Democracy - https://ivn.us/posts/how-corporate-money-is-crippling-our-democracy

• Transparency and the Future of Corporate Political Spending - https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2021/03/15/transparency-and-the-future-of-corporate-political-spending/#more-136994

• New Congress, Same “Committee Tax”: How the parties pressured legislative leaders to raise huge sums of campaign cash during the 116th Congress — and are poised to do so again this year -https://www.issueone.org/new-congress-same-committee-tax-how-the-parties-pressured-legislative-leaders-to-raise-huge-sums-of-campaign-cash-during-the-116th-congress-and-are-poised-to-do-so-again/

• Impact investing tackles a new challenge: Dark money in politics - https://www.fastcompany.com/90613224/impact-investing-tackles-a-new-challenge-dark-money-in-politics

• Faces of Small Donor Public Financing 2021 - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/faces-small-donor-public-financing-2021

• In the shadow of its exceptionalism, America fails to invest in the basics - https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2021/america-growing-disparities/

• Governors evade sunshine laws to keep records from public - https://apnews.com/article/governors-evade-sunshine-laws-keep-records-from-public-135fe6c81cf897df94eea6a726093be6

• Biden urged to pack FEC with "pro-enforcement" members - https://www.axios.com/fec-biden-campaign-finance-reform-861530cb-0bca-400b-90a3-db495175ac5b.html

• Now's the time for a cross-partisan push to stop future abuse of presidential power - https://thefulcrum.us/balance-of-power/protecting-our-democracy-act

• CUOMO’S “WOMEN’S EQUALITY PARTY” MIGHT JUST BE THE MOST CYNICAL POLITICAL MOVE OF HIS CAREER - https://theintercept.com/2021/03/15/andrew-cuomo-womens-equality-party/

• The U.S. Dropped from 48th to 67th in Women’s Representation. How? - https://msmagazine.com/2021/03/12/weekend-reading-the-u-s-dropped-from-48th-to-67th-in-womens-representation-how/

• The Universal Tabulator from RCV Resource Center- https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rcv+resource+center

• The right to vote helps rehumanize incarcerated people - https://www.covingtonreporter.com/opinion/the-right-to-vote-helps-rehumanize-incarcerated-people-guest-column/

• Olympia bill would remove voting rights barriers for former felons - https://www.kuow.org/stories/olympia-bill-would-remove-voting-rights-barriers-for-former-felons

Social Media's Impact on Democracy Links

• Social media use in politics - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media_use_in_politics

• Hard Questions: What Effect Does Social Media Have on Democracy? - https://about.fb.com/news/2018/01/effect-social-media-democracy/

• Facebook Says Social Media Can Be Negative For Democracy - https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/01/22/579732762/facebook-says-social-media-can-be-negative-for-democracy

• Evidence Mounts Of Social Media’s Negative Impacts For Democracy - https://www.forbes.com/sites/seanlawson/2019/11/07/evidence-mounts-of-social-medias-negative-impacts-for-democracy/?sh=6ae146214b84

• 64% of Americans say social media have a mostly negative effect on the way things are going in the U.S. today - https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/10/15/64-of-americans-say-social-media-have-a-mostly-negative-effect-on-the-way-things-are-going-in-the-u-s-today/

• The truth behind fake news and politics on social media - https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2020/the-truth-behind-fake-news-and-politics-on-social-media/

• How did social media become dangerous for democracy? - https://news.utexas.edu/2018/11/05/how-did-social-media-become-dangerous-for-democracy/

• Social Media and its Impacts on Democracy [Infographic] - https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/social-media-and-its-impacts-on-democracy-infographic/555192/

• Social Media Effects: Hijacking Democracy and Civility in Civic Engagement - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7343248/

• This explains how social media can both weaken — and strengthen — democracy - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/07/this-explains-how-social-media-can-both-weaken-strengthen-democracy/

• Kreps: Social media helping to undermine democracy - https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/08/kreps-social-media-helping-undermine-democracy

• IS SOCIAL MEDIA GOOD OR BAD FOR DEMOCRACY? - https://sur.conectas.org/en/is-social-media-good-or-bad-for-democracy/

• Social media – a threat or a possibility for democracy? https://demofinland.org/en/social-media-a-threat-for-democracy%E2%80%AF/

• AS THE INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA DROWN IN OPAQUE POLITICAL ADS, U.S. REFORM EFFORTS HAVE GONE NOWHERE - https://www.transparency.org/en/blog/us-election-2020-opaque-political-digital-advertising

• Social media and democracy: we need laws, not platform guidelines - https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20210204STO97129/social-media-and-democracy-we-need-laws-not-platform-guidelines

• How to Hold Social Media Accountable for Undermining Democracy - https://hbr.org/2021/01/how-to-hold-social-media-accountable-for-undermining-democracy

• Digital Political Ads - https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/digital-political-ads.aspx

• Digital Democracy - https://democracy-reporting.org/country/social-media-and-democracy/

• ‘The Social Dilemma’ Review: Unplug and Run - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/09/movies/the-social-dilemma-review.html