Stay Grounded, Stay Local
Sensational political headlines and rapid proliferation of misinformation have left many Americans feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and disconnected. The voices of trusted community leaders promote a sense of grounded engagement and resilience in an era of endless news cycles.
2/27/20252 min read
These are chaotic times in both the online and offline political worlds. Over the past few months, mainstream media and social media alike have been inundated with wild and eye-catching headlines at an extraordinary rate. Stories that seem fake are indeed true. And yet, fake news is proliferating more rapidly than ever, powered by generative AI and coupled with dampening of content moderation.
Whether the intensity we currently observe in the information environment is partly due to a “flood the zone” strategy to disrupt the constitutional order, or a product of growing polarization, the outcome for many Americans is overwhelm and hopelessness. Indeed, psychologists say, the volume of headlines, the uncertainty of consequences, and the emotional weight of the content we are seeing have taken a real toll on mental health and well-being. One of the best things we can do to stay informed without feeling drained is to refocus our attention and energy on local community and community leaders.
For local elected officials, this is an important moment—time to center their constituents on the real and very tangible work taking place in their communities. Washington DC is far, both literally and figuratively, from most Americans’ daily lives. However, the YMCA, food bank, arts programs, water authority, development projects, community policing, and youth athletics…these groups and policy efforts matter every day, and result from the efforts of local community leaders. And in fact, these are places where dedicated, progressive leaders routinely and disproportionately add value---something in which they should take pride.
Now is a time when public officials at the local level can differentiate themselves from the chaos in Washington by contributing grounded, local, value-added information into the media ecosystem. Our goal at Public Square Analytics is and has always been to provide tools and data to amplify community leaders online. For each of our clients, we regularly scan local organizations and news sources for items that they can share to (1) inform their constituents about key local policy issues, (2) highlight the efforts and achievements of key community members, and (3) maintain an engaged and regular presence in the digital public square.