Weekly Roundup – May 27th, 2026
Roundup Links
Social media as bad for children as smoking, British doctors say
"-UK medical colleges said social media is as bad as smoking for children.
-Government considers bans, curfews, and app limits for under-16s.
-Experts divided on bans; some young people oppose restrictions."
Our Take: There is a concerted push to essentially ban social media for minors across the globe. This would be disastrous for social media companies because when you use social media habitually as a kid it plays a huge part in identity formation. Social Media companies understand this, and this might be a curtain call for social media as we know it (don’t get me wrong – it will be a long time before social media goes extinct – but I would count this as the beginning of the end for the current iteration of social media). Also, one look at your old Facebook feed coupled with the fact that gen Z are not quite spending as much time on platforms like TikTok suggests a market correction. Also, the UK is a good weather vane for political winds because it always seems to be a few years ahead of the US in terms of public sentiment and discourse among the chattering classes (who never stop chattering).
More Black Men Are Tuning Out Major Media Outlets
"Black men who voted for former President Joe Biden in 2020 and then for President Donald Trump in
2024 have soured on the president, expressing concern about the president’s leadership, the economy,
and skyrocketing gas prices. But they’re also frustrated with another group — the news media.
A focus group conducted on Wednesday by the Democratic firm Navigator Research, which HuffPost was
allowed to view, revealed that these men have chosen to divest from what they believe are mainstream
media outlets and largely get their news from nontraditional outlets and independent creators on platforms
like YouTube.
“I used to watch a lot of mainstream news, but they’ve been bought out,” said a 45-year-old Black man
from Decatur, Georgia. “I go on YouTube, watch a lot of podcasters, independent — Joe Rogan, Meidas
Touch. I watch everything.”
Most of the men in the focus group cited social media as a primary source for news. Others mentioned
local news stations and newspapers as more trustworthy platforms.
A participant from Detroit mentioned that even though he primarily gets his news from YouTube and
podcasters like Joe Rogan, he trusts his local FOX station. “I don’t believe half the stuff that CNN puts
out,” he explained."
Our Take: I think you could extend the findings from this study to all demographics. There is a creeping distrust of institutions among virtually every section of society (whether this latent distrust has always been present in the US is another debate). My take is I think the problem with journalism nowadays is that most people intuitively understand that journalists are predominantly just commenting and reporting on things they’ve seen on the internet. And the common person is like ‘why is the conclusion you’ve drawn from your google searches and social media feeds so much more valid than mine?’ The influencers and podcasters offer way more red meat to their listeners than institutions do – and they are both providing commentary on the same things they’ve seen on the internet. There is very little actual reportage performed nowadays because it's incredibly expensive and people just don’t click on those stories. It’s also way less entertaining than a podcast host/influencer saying something divisive into a mic. The lay person is more often than not going to opt for the entertaining, controversial red meat of the influencer/podcaster over that of the staid, dry, and predictable institutional opinion.
Creators Don't Survive On Ad Revenue. Why Do Broadcasters Think They Can?
"...Professional, independent creators don’t rely solely on ad revenue, so why should broadcasters think
they can? They survive and thrive by monetizing aggressively through direct sponsorships, affiliate
marketing, channel memberships, merchandise, live events and direct viewer support via platforms like
Patreon. Creators figured out long ago that ad revenue is merely a baseline, not a business model. Why
should broadcasters think any differently?
Broadcasters already sell traffic sponsorships, weather and sports sponsorships and segment
integrations in traditional television. How is a sponsorship inside a YouTube weather story materially
different? Couldn’t the same local roofing company, HVAC business or window company sponsoring
weather coverage on television also sponsor a station’s YouTube weather coverage?"
Our Take: I don't have anything spicey to say other than that I wholeheartedly agree with the writer Tom Sly here.
Zoltar fortune telling machine predicts winning Powerball numbers
"Michigan Lottery player said the set of numbers that won him a $1 million Powerball prize came from an
unusual source: a Zoltar fortune telling machine.
Fraser resident Stephen Huesgen, 56, told Michigan Lottery officials the numbers he used to buy his
ticket for the April 22 drawing online were the same digits he has been using for decades.
"About 30 years ago, I was in Las Vegas and got a fortune from a Zoltar machine," Huesgen said. "On my
fortune, there was a set of lucky numbers, so I have been playing those numbers on lottery games ever
since."
Fraser's ticket matched the five white balls in the drawing: 24-29-32-49-63.
"The morning after the Powerball drawing, I saw an email from the lottery, which is when I found out I'd
won a $1 million Powerball prize. I yelled to my wife: 'Is this real?' I don't think this is going to fully hit me
until I cash the check!""
Our Take: This is why you should continue to read this weekly roundup: I might be very right in a big way at some point in the future.
