Democrats Step up Effort to Steer AI Policy Before 2028
WHO:
Fast Company - Jon Schleuss said USA Today Co. had not put its promise not to replace journalists with AI into a contract, unlike Ziff Davis, IGN, The New Republic, Time, and CalMatters.
Fast Company - Tomorrow Together is the Democratic political organization behind the new research initiative.
Fast Company - David Shor, a party data analyst, said, “I really think we’re watching the birth of a new political issue before our eyes.”
Fast Company - The NewsGuild represents journalists at Fast Company and Inc.; those outlets’ staff unionized with the Writers Guild of America East.
Fast Company - Jon Schleuss said the union’s organizing surge is the largest since its founding during the Great Depression.
Fast Company - Tomorrow Together co-founder Karthik Ganapathy said, “I’d rather be us than them,” referring to Republicans on AI regulation.
Fast Company - Tomorrow Together co-founder Rob Flaherty said voters had been unsure whom to trust at the start of the cycle, but argued Democrats now have the lead.
Fast Company - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has distanced himself from Trump’s pro-industry stance on AI.
ABC News Politics - A Democratic political group is organizing a new effort to address voters’ concerns about artificial intelligence.
ABC News US - A Democratic political group is organizing a new effort to address voters’ concerns about artificial intelligence.
Fast Company - Jon Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild-CWA, said the union is responding to news companies’ use of AI and its effects on journalists.
Fast Company - USA Today Co., formerly Gannett, partnered with Palantir; the NewsGuild represents workers at USA Today papers.
Fast Company - Mike Reed is CEO of USA Today Co.; Kristin Roberts is president of USA Today Media.
Fast Company - Schleuss said the NewsGuild has added more than 10,000 workers from 246 workplaces during his presidency, including workers in publishing, technology, and nonprofits.
Fast Company - The NewsGuild was founded in 1933 as the American Newspaper Guild.
WHAT:
Fast Company - Jon Schleuss said the five main protections the NewsGuild seeks in contracts are no AI-related layoffs, no AI-related salary cuts, labor-management committees, bans on unauthorized training on or impersonation of journalists’ work, and labeling of AI-generated material.
Fast Company - Schleuss said Politico’s contract required 60 calendar days’ notice before introducing new tools; the NewsGuild won an arbitration after a report-builder incorrectly said abortion remained legal nationwide under Roe v. Wade, and Politico shut down the tool.
Fast Company - Schleuss said USA Today’s Streamer tool creates short-form videos with AI-generated text and voiceover, and journalists considered it worse than a decade-old internal tool.
Fast Company - Schleuss said the NewsGuild had published its archive, dating to 1933, as 1,300 PDFs on its website.
Fast Company - Tomorrow Together’s initiative will research how to talk with voters about artificial intelligence.
Fast Company - Tomorrow Together’s midterm spending supported candidates calling for limits on AI and data centers.
Fast Company - NewsGuild members at USA Today papers said the company’s chatbot wrongly identified a reporter covering a murder case as the suspect.
Fast Company - Jon Schleuss said Gannett’s Espresso tool turns press releases into draft stories and can produce one-sided coverage when journalists are pressed to edit quickly.
Fast Company - Schleuss said NewsGuild members won a Politico arbitration after a report-builder tool incorrectly stated that abortion remained legal nationwide under Roe v. Wade; the tool was shut down.
Fast Company - Schleuss said publishers do not know the value of AI-content deals and are bargaining without knowing what comparable agreements are worth.
Fast Company - Tomorrow Together’s $1.1 million research initiative begins amid warnings that AI could pose risks as companies develop systems capable of building new versions of themselves.
Fast Company - The NewsGuild is bargaining across 46 Gannett contracts; journalists at The Columbus Dispatch are negotiating their first contract after unionizing.
Fast Company - NewsGuild’s contract priorities include forming labor-management committees to address AI issues in real time.
Fast Company - The American Independent’s contract bars employees from using AI to produce published material, except for quotes derived from interview transcripts.
Fast Company - The New York Times has an AI-content deal with Amazon, but NewsGuild president Jon Schleuss said the company has not agreed to compensate its journalists.
Fast Company - Schleuss said the NewsGuild has filed three lawsuits over ICE’s treatment of journalists.
Fast Company - Schleuss cited Politico’s AI report-builder tool, which incorrectly said Roe v. Wade remained in effect; the tool was shut down after arbitration.
Fast Company - Schleuss identified the New York Times’ Manosphere Report, which transcribes right-wing podcasts for journalists, and analysis of government-released Jeffrey Epstein records as useful AI applications when people verify the results.
Fast Company - Schleuss said the NewsGuild published its archive, dating to 1933, online as 1,300 PDFs.
Fast Company - Tomorrow Together’s new research initiative is starting with $1.1 million in funding.
Fast Company - Tomorrow Together spent $6.5 million on behalf of candidates calling for more AI regulation during the midterms.
Fast Company - David Shor described AI as a rare issue where voters from both parties support regulation.
Fast Company - Maddie Kriger said the group expects more and potentially worse AI incidents in the next year and wants to be prepared to help people and take action.
ABC News Politics - The group’s initiative aims to shape the AI agenda ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
ABC News US - The group’s initiative aims to shape the AI agenda ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
Fast Company - USA Today Co.’s AI initiatives include push-button videos, AI-written article summaries, and AI-generated articles.
Fast Company - NewsGuild members at USA Today papers have called for an end to the Palantir partnership, citing reader trust and a potential conflict for reporters covering ICE.
Fast Company - After a reader-facing chatbot launched on USA Today websites, journalists at two Ohio papers removed their bylines; they said it wrongly identified a murder-case reporter as the suspect.
Fast Company - Schleuss said the union seeks contract protections against AI-related layoffs and salary reductions, use of journalists’ work without consent, impersonation, and unlabeled AI-generated content.
Fast Company - Schleuss said 95 NewsGuild contracts contain AI provisions; he said Gannett has refused to agree to protections against AI-related layoffs and salary reductions.
Fast Company - The New Republic’s contract language permits generative AI as a complementary editorial tool, not the primary means of creation, and bars AI-related layoffs, vacancies left unfilled, and pay cuts.
Fast Company - The New York FAIR News Act, on New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s desk, would require labeling news website material wholly generated by AI.
Fast Company - Schleuss cited a Politico arbitration in which a tool was shut down after failing to reflect the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade; the contract required 60 calendar days’ notice of new tools.
Fast Company - Schleuss said AI can assist with tasks such as transcribing interviews, analyzing large document collections, and writing code to scrape websites, but outputs must be checked by people.
Fast Company - Schleuss said the Local Journalist Index estimates the United States has lost about 80% of local journalists since 2002, falling from about 40 per 100,000 residents to 7.8.
Fast Company - Schleuss cited polling showing 52% of Americans are more concerned about AI than excited about it.
Fast Company - Schleuss said McClatchy laid off 30% of NewsGuild-represented membership in September.
WHERE:
Fast Company - Democrats met in Denver for the What’s Next conference, described as a two-day event to discuss midterm wins and the next presidential campaign.
Fast Company - The Palantir partnership involves USA Today Co., the largest newspaper chain in the United States.
Fast Company - The New York FAIR News Act is before New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
WHEN:
ABC News Politics - The effort is aimed at the 2028 presidential election.
ABC News US - The effort is aimed at the 2028 presidential election.
Fast Company - USA Today Co. announced its Palantir partnership in August.
Fast Company - The New Republic’s cited contract provision dates to December ’24.
Fast Company - Schleuss said the majority of things people see on the internet could be AI-generated material within five years.
WHY:
Fast Company - Schleuss said CEOs often do not understand how AI systems work and push them into newsrooms, contributing to misinformation and making it harder for journalists to determine what is true.
Fast Company - Democrats view Trump’s opposition to AI regulation as an opportunity to contrast their position with his and argue that voters support guardrails on AI development.
Fast Company - Schleuss said USA Today Co.’s Espresso tool turns press releases into draft stories, which he warned could produce one-sided reporting if journalists do not independently verify the material.
Fast Company - Schleuss said reporters have raised questions about what reader data USA Today Co. shares with Palantir and how the partnership affects readers’ trust.
ABC News Politics - The Democratic group is seeking to address voters’ concerns about artificial intelligence.
ABC News US - The Democratic group is seeking to address voters’ concerns about artificial intelligence.
Fast Company - NewsGuild members raised concerns about reader trust, journalists’ safety and security, job losses, and the use of journalists’ work in AI systems.
Fast Company - Schleuss said journalism relies on trust and ethical reporting, and warned that replacing journalists with bots risks misinformation.
HOW:
Fast Company - Schleuss said AI can help journalists organize large document collections and write website-scraping code, but people must verify its results.
ABC News Politics - The group is launching a political push to develop ways to address voter concerns about AI.
ABC News US - The group is launching a political push to develop ways to address voter concerns about AI.
Fast Company - NewsGuild journalists are pursuing AI protections through collective bargaining agreements and arbitration.
Fast Company - Schleuss said contracts can require advance notice of new tools, human review of AI outputs, and labeling of AI-generated material.
(UPDATED November 13, 2026 21:00 UTC)
A Democratic group launched research into voters’ concerns about artificial intelligence. It previously backed candidates seeking limits on AI and hopes to shape future debate. The NewsGuild is pushing publishers to protect journalists from AI-driven layoffs and unauthorized use of their work.
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(UPDATED November 13, 2026 19:57 UTC)
A Democratic group is researching voters’ concerns about artificial intelligence and shaping the political agenda. Journalists’ unions seek safeguards against AI-driven layoffs, misuse of their work, and misleading content. Newsrooms are increasingly adopting AI tools.
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(UPDATED November 13, 2026 19:00 UTC)
NewsGuild journalists are demanding protections after AI tools produced serious errors in published news. The union seeks safeguards against layoffs and unauthorized use of reporters’ work. A Democratic group launched a research effort to shape AI policy before 2028.
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(UPDATED November 13, 2026 18:00 UTC)
A Democratic group is launching a major initiative to shape artificial intelligence policy ahead of 2028. The NewsGuild is seeking protections against AI-related layoffs and unauthorized use of journalists’ work. Members oppose USA Today’s Palantir partnership, citing trust and safety concerns.
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(UPDATED November 13, 2026 17:00 UTC)
A Democratic group is launching a new effort to address voters’ concerns about artificial intelligence. The initiative begins with $1.1 million and aims to shape the 2028 presidential race. Meanwhile, NewsGuild journalists seek contract protections as USA Today expands its use of AI.
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(UPDATED November 13, 2026 13:09 UTC)
A Democratic group is organizing a campaign to address voters’ AI concerns ahead of 2028. NewsGuild journalists are bargaining for protections against AI-driven layoffs and misuse of their work. At USA Today, workers object to Palantir’s partnership and AI tools they say threaten trust.