In communities across the country, we’re hearing from everyday people that they are hungry for a new way to connect with neighbors online.
Our team at New_ Public, a nonprofit focused on building digital public spaces, is creating Roundabout, a new social app and website, now in closed beta.
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New research: Public Agenda, in partnership with @snfagora.bsky.social, finds that Americans are deeply concerned about democracy, with partisan divides sharpened by Republican disagreements about presidential authority and the balance of powers.
Full findings: publicagenda.org/resource/pa-...
To cast doubt on election results, the Trump administration and its supporters are misconstruing declassified intelligence reports about vulnerabilities in state voter registration databases. But there’s no evidence that the systems were corrupted. bit.ly/4tjHbIM
The collapse of political belonging is reshaping democracy, Anton Cebalo argues.
To learn more about CHT’s work on “AI and What Makes Us Human,” read our Substack post: centerforhumanetechnology.substack.com/p/whats-at-s...
Read more of their thinking here:
www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/05/1...
And find our recent research on AI here:
newpublic.org/afterthefeed
New_ Public’s app for local communities enters closed beta in five pilot communities
Public Agenda and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University are working together to understand Americans’ beliefs about democratic practices and principles. Previous work led by the SNF Agor...
publicagenda.org
China is exporting its “vast security apparatus that keeps citizens safe [but] is frequently deployed to crush political dissent.” Interesting that US’ aspiring tech oligarch Larry Ellison predicts people here will “behave” b/c surveillance will be everywhere.
www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/w...
Many agree that young men in the US are not thriving—but what do they actually think?
New Public Agenda research listens to young men directly, uncovering their views on education, the economy, civic life, and more. See what we found in the full report: publicagenda.org/resource/you...
Despite recent unfounded claims about data breaches, various systems and backstops protect voter information from cyberattacks.
“The biggest challenge men face today is identity. Historically men would have a tribe, have a local community, whether it’s church and you are kind of just part of the organization. Now we live in a ...
How to scale democratic innovations?
Read my new DemocracyNext paper, co-authored by Sammy McKinney, about "scaling catalysts" - the organisations playing a crucial role in scaling democratic innovations in their regions.
www.demnext.org/projects/sca...
Will Friedman
Public Agenda
The Participatory Budgeting Project
Claudia Chwalisz
📢 Join us to explore how public participation is being embedded into governance around the world—featuring global case studies, tools & data. With @opengovpartnership.org , @taicollab.bsky.social and more!
đź”— Register: www.peoplepowered.org/events-conte...
#MainstreamingParticipation
From Asia to Africa, learn how public participation is being embedded into government systems—and what it takes to do it well.
