‘Startup Nation’ Groups Say They’re Meeting Trump Officials to Push for Deregulated ‘Freedom Cities’

Trey Goff, the chief of staff of the startup nation known as Próspera, tells WIRED that he and other Próspera representatives working under an advocacy group called the Freedom Cities Coalition have been meeting with the Trump administration about the idea in recent weeks. He claims the administration has been very receptive. In 2023, Trump floated the idea of creating 10 freedom cities. Now, Goff says that Próspera’s vision is to create “not just 10, but as many as the market can handle.”

2025-03-18T19:54:42+00:0003/09/2025|

Donald Trump Is Turning the Press Pool Into a MAGA Echo Chamber

Leavitt insisted the change was a “long overdue” corrective to an “outdated” system, which gave “left wing stenographers” a “monopoly” on access. But the real message behind the move was plain: The Trump administration will punish news organizations for unfavorable coverage and uncomfortable questions.

2025-03-18T19:52:09+00:0003/05/2025|

Reichstag Fire 2.0: Will Trump Use a Crisis to Kill Democracy?

There’s a long history of leaders using national emergencies to raise their popularity, expand their own power, overwhelm opposition politicians, scapegoat minorities, suspend constitutions and elections, and provide a legal façade for ending or weakening democracy.

2025-03-18T19:52:35+00:0003/04/2025|

Trump’s aid cuts will lead to a surge in propaganda and misinformation, say press freedom groups

From Ukraine to Afghanistan, independent media organisations across the world are being forced to lay off staff or shut down after losing USAid funding.

2025-03-18T19:52:56+00:0003/03/2025|

The Wide Angle: Elon Musk and the American Endgame

...Congress is baffled as to why Musk is doing all of this, and what he possibly wants from access to sensitive data including US Treasury records on social security numbers, bank routing and account numbers, healthcare data, and Department of Energy information on nuclear weapons. He has given free rein to a group of 20-ish boys — tech enthusiasts with no training or relevant experience — so they can “improve” things and harvest information.

2025-03-18T19:55:36+00:0003/03/2025|

New report on Russian media in exile: RSF calls for increased support amid unprecedented digital repression

Independent Russian media in exile are a vital line of defence against the Kremlin’s massive digital censorship project, which has an estimated budget of nearly 630 million euros, according to the latest report by The Fix and the JX Fund. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges European states, international donors, and tech giants to step up their support for these media outlets as they face unprecedented repression and major logistical, financial, and security challenges.

2025-03-23T17:43:26+00:0003/03/2025|