Democrats Defeated the GOP. It’s Up to the People to Defeat Big Tech.
Why you can trust us
Following last week’s sweeping blue wave, progressives are poised to exercise more political power than they have in years. But in order to make this moment count, we need visionary ideas to power real political transformation. Last month, YES! and Truthout launched a new original series, Taking Back the Public Commons, to shine a light on visionary organizing for public funding and public goods. Bringing original reporting back to YES! has been a key goal for us, and we’re thrilled to launch this series in this pivotal political moment. We hope it provides tools, inspiration, and concrete examples for building the thriving society we all deserve to live in.
Going forward, each newsletter will be packed with new original work–and this, of course, takes resources! If you’d like to support the work, you can do so here. Either way, thank you so much for reading – we’re excited to be entering a new era of YES! with you!
The 2026 midterm elections were a powerful rebuke of Donald Trump’s second presidency. Inflation, the war on Iran, the violence of federal immigration agents, and widespread corruption in the administration were among many of the top issues motivating voters to register their discontent at the polls, resulting in sweeping wins for the Democratic candidates for the Senate, the House, and governorships.
But perhaps a more mobilizing force for voters, which has often bridged partisan divides in states across the United States, is AI. Communities across the country have been registering their discontent over data centers, automated license plate readers, and the deeper penetration of related technology into their workplaces and everyday lives.
Some fights at local and state levels have been able to halt construction or win temporary moratoriums on data center construction, or ban AI at schools. But Big Tech has no plan but expansion. In order to ultimately rein in the industry’s perilous impacts on workers, communities, and the environment, grassroots struggles must offer a vision beyond mere opposition:
In addition to fighting the AI tech oligarchy, we must articulate a different vision of society that centers workers and communities controlling and democratizing technology. A more humane and environmentally just vision could arise from a multitude of local and state-based sources, from communally researching and engaging technology to advocating for states and municipalities to commit to full transparency and open public hearings so all who are interested can participate in the decision-making process for new infrastructure development.
–Austin C. McCoy
Read the full article: The Fight Against Big Tech’s AI Takeover Must Continue Past the Midterms
More Stories From “Taking Back the Public Commons”
- Sonali Kolhatkar examines the obstacles facing New Mexico’s groundbreaking universal child care program.
- Marianne Dhenin reports on a citizen-led ballot initiative in California that could serve as a model for future efforts to tax the ultra-rich, and examines how tenant unions in Providence, Rhode Island, mobilized to help progressives win in their city.
- Miguel Molina-Ventura and Amy Rynell explain how a diverse coalition recently won the largest funding increase for public transit in the Chicago region’s history through grassroots organizing.
From the Archives: Lowering Bills and Emissions Can Go Hand in Hand
Electricity bills have soared in recent years as the US wages endless war, oil and gas companies take advantage of supply crises to exploit consumers, and AI data centers increase demand on the grid. Meanwhile, the climate crisis shows no signs of abating, and the fossil fuel industry remains unimpeded in its efforts to deepen the catastrophe.
But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a way to tackle each of these crises — or both simultaneously. In 2012, activists in Boulder, Colorado, mobilized voters for two ballot initiatives that took on both corporate power and fossil fuels at the municipal level. The campaign argued that “producing renewable energy for a municipal utility could keep millions of dollars in the local economy instead of exporting them to the headquarters of an investor-held company” – and won.
Read the full article: Boulder Votes to Free Its Electric Company
New Solutions Journalism From Independent Media
🗳️ Dispatch From Dearborn: How El-Sayed Flipped Precincts That Had Voted for Trump – Truthout
🤝 Missouri LGBTQIA+ Group Used “Deep Canvassing” to Build a Pro-Trans Majority – Prism
😤 Voters Repudiated Trump. Grassroots Momentum Will Shape What Comes Next – Waging Nonviolence
🕳️ “Sewer Socialism” is Ascendant in America’s Big Cities – In These Times
🧠 Organizing for the Long Haul Means Remaining Open Minded – Convergence
Rising Up With Sonali
Rising Up With Sonali continues to bring solutions journalism coverage to television, radio and podcast platforms. A one-woman operation run by former YES! Senior Editor, Sonali Kolhatkar, the program is sustained entirely through low-cost subscriptions starting at only $4 a month.
CLICK HERE to subscribe now. Not yet ready to subscribe? Sign up to receive Sonali’s free newsletter instead.
Imagining a Future With a Flourishing Public Commons
It’s everyone’s right to feel joy when new possibilities emerge, and to take a moment to embrace a sense of relief when authoritarianism takes a hit! But it won’t be long before movements need to push elected officials again, no matter their party affiliation. The fight for a democratic society that prioritizes public goods over Big Tech’s profits will require a scale of organizing beyond what many of us have ever known. Yet with a big vision buttressed by acts of collective care, it can be done. We’re honored to document this process of creation, connection-building, dreaming, and action!
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Truthout
hosts a monthly newsletter with relevant content from the YES! digital archives and new solutions journalism from a variety of publications. These curated resources can help us imagine – and build – movements for transformation.
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