by Ja'han Jones | Jun 17, 2026 | Opinion
Happy Tuesday. Here’s your Tuesday Tech Drop, with the week’s top stories from the intersection of technology and politics.
U.K.’s Starmer announces social media ban
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Monday that children under age 16 will no longer be allowed to access social media starting in 2027.
A press release from the U.K. Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology said gaming sites and livestreaming platforms are banned for younger users as well:
In a move to protect children online and address the scale of the challenge, the government will also go further than a blanket ban on social media with world-leading blocks on harmful functions such as livestreaming and stranger communication with children for under-16s. These restrictions — which together with the ban go further than any other country — will apply to a wider range of online services, including on gaming sites.
British officials said they see a similar ban in Australia as a model. Australian officials acknowledged that many children under 16 have managed to exploit workarounds to access social media platforms despite the ban but defended it as an important barrier nonetheless. Starmer struck a similar note during a press conference Monday, acknowledging that loopholes are inevitable but adding that he’s “not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children.”
I think of such regulations as akin to those around alcohol consumption. Are you going to stop teen drinking completely by enforcing a minimum drinking age? No. But it’s worth encouraging a culture that sees teens’ consumption of products with known risks as a crisis, and takes rational steps to stop it.
Read more at The Associated Press.
Ominous IPOs
After SpaceX’s
by Zeeshan Aleem | Jun 16, 2026 | Opinion
Less than a day after hosting an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight on the White House lawn, President Donald Trump turned his attention to announcing another splashy event: the July 4th event in Washington meant to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, which Trump says will now be “the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all” and feature the “largest fireworks show in history.”
As MS NOW reported, this event was, according to the organization managing the event, originally intended to celebrate America’s founding and love of country in a nonpartisan manner. The event description made no mention of Trump and promised a “celebration of the people, principles, and patriotic spirit that make the United States the greatest nation in the world.”
But Trump is politicizing the event, once more co-opting the country’s anniversary into a personal celebration, and selling it with the same energy that one might advertise a monster truck show.
I can’t help but think of that warning that populists pander to the public and divert their attention from misdeeds with “bread and circuses.” But Trump’s political strategy has gone all in on circuses — and the bread has gone moldy.
Trump is barely even attempting to govern anymore, but he is feverishly devoted to crafting the symbolism of power.
It is not uncommon for presidents to sponsor fun cultural events at the White House. But Trump’s UFC fight used entertainment as a reactionary political forum, encouraging his supporters to see violence as a just and honorable signifier of their politics.
The Lincoln Memorial is a sacred place in the American story, meant to prompt reflection about our republic’s existential questions. Trump held
by Ja'han Jones | Jun 16, 2026 | Opinion
Donald Trump has inadvertently created a physical swamp that serves as a potent metaphor for his administration’s corruption and incompetence.
The man who popularized the phrase “drain the swamp” as a vow to rid politics of corruption has failed to live up to his word. Meanwhile, his failed attempt to beautify the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., has become the perfect epitome of the president’s ability to deliver funds to his friends at taxpayers’ expense.
As my colleague Steve Benen wrote in April, Trump called the Reflecting Pool “dirty” and “filthy” en route to awarding one of his associates a no-bid contract to beautify it. But just days after the job was completed, at a cost of more than $14 million, algae is in full bloom throughout the pool, giving it the look of a Florida swamp.
Experts warned The New York Times last month that an algae bloom was likely if the administration didn’t take proper steps to improve the pool’s pipe and filter system. And those concerns have been realized despite an expensive effort to mitigate the problem, as you can tell from a DC News Now report featuring angry D.C. visitors.
Pro-Trump influencer Greg Stinchfield drew jeers on social media for claiming without evidence the algae was a result of liberal “sabotage” and “vandalism.”
the antifa supersoldiers have put woke algae back in the reflecting pool https://t.co/CLYslncKtp— Osita Nwanevu (@OsitaNwanevu) June 15, 2026
The root issues with this swampy scenario are more likely Trump’s ignorance, haste and misuse of taxpayer funds. Irony may be dead, but the president’s commitment to boondoggles that bilk the American taxpayer while enriching himself and his allies is
by Rep. Analilia Mejia | Jun 16, 2026 | Opinion
President Donald Trump, with the support of Republicans in Congress, signed legislation last week funding federal immigration agencies through the end of his term. Americans should know how millions of their taxpayer dollars are being spent on the active destruction of their fellow human beings.
As part of my constitutional oversight responsibilities in Congress, I have visited Delaney Hall, a privately run detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, four times. From the first time I stepped into Delaney Hall, my worst fears were confirmed.
The smell of sewage permeated the building. The air felt stagnant, and I questioned whether there was adequate ventilation for detainees or staff.
What I witnessed with my own eyes was alarming enough. The smell of sewage permeated the building. The air felt stagnant, and I questioned whether there was adequate ventilation for detainees or staff. In the cafeteria, I saw a space that appeared far too small to accommodate the number of people being held. When I asked how hundreds of detainees were fed, I was told meals were served in waves beginning as early as 4 a.m.
Detainees described freezing temperatures, poor sanitation, spoiled food, isolation and being required to clean bathrooms and showers contaminated with urine and other biological waste without proper protective materials.
Play
‘UN-AMERICAN’: Top Dem SLAMS controversial New Jersey ICE facility
June 2, 2026 / 05:36
The most alarming thing I have witnessed, however, is the treatment — really, the lack of treatment — of people with serious and chronic medical conditions. I believe what I have witnessed at both Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth Detention Center amounts to nothing short of medical abuse.
While the Department of Homeland Security
by Zahara Hill | Jun 16, 2026 | Opinion, Politics, Sports
President Donald Trump celebrating his 80th birthday with UFC fights on the White House lawn was classless enough. Then Josh Hokit was given a microphone. After the UFC fighter won his cage match at Trump’s flamboyant celebration Sunday night, Hokit, who spoke mostly in disturbingly trite rhymes after his win, managed to further degrade the event. At the conclusion of his post-fight interview with announcer, podcaster and manosphere extraordinaire Joe Rogan, the athlete declared,“Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”
Many in the crowd of thousands of UFC fans ate it up, and expecting anything less would require an exceptional level of delusion. Misogynoir and transphobia have been lobbed against Obama at least since 2008, when America elected her husband, Barack Obama, president.
Misogynoir and transphobia have been lobbed against Obama at least since 2008, when America elected her husband, Barack Obama, president.
Misogynoir was coined by academic Moya Bailey in 2008 to describe the intertwining of racism and misogyny targeting Black women. As pervasive as misogynoir is, it took 15 years for Merriam-Webster to add the word to its dictionary. But even as I write this piece, each time I type misogynoir, spell-check suggests I have made a typo.
While it’s tempting to categorize Hokit’s remark as a random remark that came completely out of left field, the athlete was actually on brand. ESPN reported, “In his postfight interview at UFC 324 in January, Hokit called WNBA star Brittney Griner ‘a man.’” He’s a poster child for misogynoir.
Trump’s entire political persona is crafted in the mold of a strongman, an archetype that couldn’t exist without a heavy dose of toxic masculinity. And when he was elected to the
by Ja'han Jones | Jun 15, 2026 | Opinion
Medical examiners ruled the death of a Haitian woman seeking asylum in the U.S. to be a homicide via hypothermia after she was left by federal immigration officers at a Pittsburgh bus shelter in February.
According to The Associated Press, the examiner described Michel as “suffering from untreated severe mental health issues and a significant language barrier” when she was released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody on Feb. 27. Prior to her release, she had been held in jail for six months following a reported mental health episode.
The AP report continued:
Michel was a native of Haiti who was seeking asylum in the U.S. after arriving at the southern border in 2022, said Joseph Patrick Murphy, her family’s attorney. She was granted humanitarian parole based on urgent humanitarian need, but she did not live to see a hearing scheduled for two weeks after she died, he said.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Lauren Bis told the AP in an email that, “ICE had NOTHING to do with this woman’s death. She passed away THREE days after ICE encountered her.”
ICE gave a similar statement to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4, saying Michel “was released with all of her belongings, including a fully charged phone, in sunny weather in the middle of Pittsburgh, where public transport is readily available.”
Sunshine of course doesn’t preclude freezing temperatures. But as always, context is important with regard to Michel’s alleged condition when ICE dropped her off, apparently nowhere near her home. Michel’s attorney and the top official in Allegheny County tell a different story — one of neglect.
Michel’s attorney gave this statement to Action News 4:
“When you release someone
