Narrative A

We knew this report was going to be bad, but it turned out to be far worse than expected. This tragic and reprehensible abuse of power goes against everything Southern Baptists are supposed to stand for.

Narrative B

Very sadly, this isn't shocking. The SBC, like the Roman Catholic Church, is an institution built on male supremacy. As the Catholic church scandal showed, intolerance for reproductive rights and cover-ups of sexual abuse go hand in hand. In these situations, men are forgiven for their sexual crimes and the rights of women are shunned altogether.

Narrative C

While the findings of the report are deplorable, the SBC has been radically transparent since its release, which will hopefully deter anything like this from ever happening again. The church must now push forward with a message of hope and restoration, while doing their utmost to ensure justice is served.

Left narrative

It's about time the DOJ's use-of-force policy is updated. The new order represents the modernization of policing and Biden's effort to navigate what is an extremely pertinent issue. Although limited in its ability to impose the new requirements on local police, it's a step in the right direction to addressing America's policing crisis.

Progressive narrative

Unfortunately, no amount of legislation or policy writing will solve the policing crisis. In order to effect real change we need to tackle the root cause, which is police culture. The Biden administration has failed to do this, and until they do, the pace of reform will remain stagnant.

Right narrative

The police crisis is not one of police brutality but rather one of a climate of animus against officers. Police have extremely dangerous jobs, and need to make quick life-or-death decisions. While acts of negligence and abuse should most certainly be prevented and punished, it seems that everyone is entitled to a presumption of innocence except our police.

Anti-China narrative

These files paint a damning picture of the widespread abuse and injustice faced by Uyghurs at the hands of the Chinese government. Not only are they arbitrarily detained on the slimmest of pretexts, but even those who aren't imprisoned are subject to an ongoing campaign of surveillance and scrutiny. China's ultimate goal, in their own words, is to "break their roots, break their lineage, break their connections, break their origins." Western governments must do more to stop this.

Pro-China narrative

Nations with an anti-China agenda have consistently concocted misinformation about what's really happening in Xinjiang. The PRC's policies aren't about human rights or religion; they're about combating violent terrorism and radicalization. Thanks to these efforts, the region now enjoys social stability and harmony, as well economic development.

Establishment-critical narrative

Genocide accusations against China all originate from a single source a German right-wing religious extremist, Adrian Zenz, affiliated with shady neoconservative think tanks. A careful review of Zenz's so-called evidence in the past has revealed flagrant data abuse and outright fabrications.

Anti-Russia narrative

This invasion is an egregious violation of international law. Putin's ultimate aim is to restore the Soviet empire, even if it takes massive bloodshed and false pretexts such as calling the 2014 Ukrainian revolution after a fraudulent election a "coup". This unprovoked attack is the latest chapter in Putin's Orwellian attempt to rewrite history.

Pro-Russia narrative

NATO and the US have ignored Russia's security concerns by breaking its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification. These concerns are legitimate and taking them seriously would have avoided the Ukraine tragedy.

Nerd narrative

There is a 30% chance that Putin and Zelenskyy will meet to discuss the peaceful resolution of the Russian-Ukraine conflict before 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Pro-establishment narrative

Regardless of minor issues, the truce in Yemen is holding nonetheless, and peace may soon be achieved. Yemen's internationally recognized government has made many meaningful compromises with the Houthi rebels, but the Houthis will have to make compromises as well, such as lifting the siege of Taiz.

Establishment-critical narrative

The war in Yemen, now in its eighth year, is every bit as brutal as what's taking place in Ukraine. A ceasefire was supposed to be in effect, but, still, the coalition chose to fly a drone over Sanaa. The West's failure to address this humanitarian disaster or cover it in the media with any sort of urgency says a lot about its inherent bias and who it considers worthy and unworthy victims.

Nerd narrative

There's a 52% chance that the ceasefire in Yemen will hold for its intended duration, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Pro-establishment narrative

Kim Jong-un is a mad man who poses a severe threat to the stability of the Korean peninsula and the security of the rest of the world. The US has so far failed to negotiate an end to nuclear weapons in exchange for humanitarian aid - it's time the US turns up the heat on North Korea's dictatorship.

Establishment-critical narrative

North Korea has been pushed into a corner by the West. For years Pyongyang made a goodwill effort towards diplomacy with the West and denuclearization, but all it got in return was snubbed and strong-armed. Powerful weapons are needed for nuclear war deterrence, and to avert imperialist threats and blackmail.

Nerd narrative

There's a 94% chance Kim Jong-Un will remain the de facto leader of North Korea until January 1, 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Democratic narrative

Georgia was an unmitigated disaster for the disgraced, twice-impeached former president. The GOP base turned out to reject Trump's candidates and his discredited claims about election fraud in 2020. To top it off, Trump's own former VP Mike Pence stumped for Kemp and begged voters to move on from 2020.

Pro-Trump narrative

The mainstream media are gleefully reporting on the two primary loses in Georgia as a major setback for Trump in his role as Republican kingmaker. But they're suspiciously quiet on major victories by Trump-backed AG Ken Paxton in Texas and Sen. John Boozman in Arkansas. Trump's candidates have prevailed at a rate of more than 90% this election cycle.

Cynical narrative

Trump might not have a perfect record when it comes to backing candidates, but he's found a new source of revenue. Seven of his GOP endorsees, including several from GA, spent more than $400K combined this election cycle at his private club Mar-a-Lago, where Purdue and others posed for photos to raise campaign funds without a guarantee their groveling would pay off.

Left narrative

Transphobia as a publicity stunt is a common occurrence and this is no different. Ricky Gervais is choosing to attack a highly marginalised group for his personal gain and Netflix audiences are right to be boycotting the service.

Right narrative

Comedy is an art form and censoring it would set a dangerous precedent. Everyone has their own taste, style, and preference, and the topic and content of comedic performance should not be restricted just because a minority finds it offensive.

Nerd narrative

There is an 8% chance that the ACLU will argue that hate speech should not be protected by the First Amendment by 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Democratic narrative

It's common for news networks that lean toward both ends of the political spectrum to hire Washington insiders after their official tenures are over. As WH spokesperson, Psaki became a familiar face that the public can trust. She'll be an important voice on the air this election season.

Republican narrative

Psaki spent her time at the WH playing loose with the truth to distract attention from the scandal-plagued Biden administration. So it's no surprise she'd be hired by MSNBC, a network known for doing the administration's bidding. The question remains will she be more truthful in her new role?

Cynical narrative

If cable news networks ever want to be taken seriously again, they need to stop hiring famous partisan hacks in pursuit of huge ratings and instead hire credible journalists. Psaki will be next in a long line of people on both sides who've made their career spinning the facts while in government, then doing the same on the air.

Democratic narrative

The more noise Republicans make about voter fraud, the more we find out that they're the ones committing it. Although this wasn't the first time the GOP has been caught red-handed, this instance of fraud was particularly sloppy and easy to uncover.

Republican narrative

The only victims of fraud here are the candidates who were duped by the petitioners, possibly in a well-orchestrated plot to keep leading GOP contenders off the ballot. Changes to the system need to be implemented immediately to allow the candidates to rectify the situation.

Narrative A

This bipartisan bill will make California a national leader on children's online safety by specifically targeting the features – notably ads and notifications – that feed into the cycle of addiction in younger users.

Narrative B

This law would violate free-speech rights at the core of the First Amendment. California is as forbidden from penalizing internet publishers for their creation, placement and promotion of content as it is from punishing newspapers and other media.

Narrative C

If this bill, and its vague definition of addiction, pass, social media companies and online web services will have no choice but to cease operations for kids under 18 and implement stringent age-verification in order to comply with these legislative requirements.