'The United States and other open societies must not be complacent'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day


'From Iran and Russia, the disinformation is now. The target is America.'
The Washington Post editorial board
If Iran's and Russia's disinformation campaign "sounds like a repeat of the 2016 presidential campaign, with foreign nations trying to interfere in U.S. democracy, it is," says The Washington Post editorial board. Russia has now "supercharged the process to spread disinformation at high speed and on industrial scale." It is "likely there are many other still-undetected influence campaigns," using artificial intelligence, so "Congress ought to fund and upgrade programs that warn citizens against getting duped."
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'Joe Biden didn't just pass the torch at the DNC — he paid tribute to the future'
Hayes Brown at MSNBC
President Joe Biden was "fired up in a way he hadn't been in months," at the DNC says Hayes Brown. Biden used his speech to "brag a little about his accomplishments and channel righteous anger at the ways former President Donald Trump and his movement have hurt, and will hurt, the country." There was a "laundry list of accomplishments that Biden had expected to run on himself. Instead, it will be the foundation of Harris' campaign."
'What Harris can take from Obama's very first convention speech'
Julian E. Zelizer at Foreign Policy
As Democrats "prepare for the DNC in Chicago, they would do well to look back at what Obama had to say" in 2004, says Julian E. Zelizer. Obama's "keynote address remains as relevant in 2024 as it was when he was still a relatively unknown figure on the national stage." The speech "provides a solid foundation for the politics of joy that Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, hope can keep their momentum going."
'Germany's brilliant police strategy: give us your knife, get free Netflix'
Itxu Díaz at National Review
Knife violence and immigration are "merging into a crisis European officials are reluctant to seriously address," says Itxu Díaz. Germany is "debating whether the government should offer Netflix subscriptions to those who voluntarily hand in their illegal knives." This debate is "so immensely illustrative of the EU's failure that it is impossible to overlook." If Europeans "were told in 2015 about such a proposal, we would have said without hesitation: 'That will never happen here.'"
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Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
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