Happy Wednesday and welcome back to today’s edition of Common Sense with Ally Sammarco — your daily briefing on U.S. politics. Let’s break it down.
Young Republican Leaders’ Leaked Chats Show Hate, Violence….A dump of more than 2,900 pages of private Telegram messages from Young Republican group leaders has revealed disgusting conversations between them: racist slurs, praise for Hitler, graphic sexual violence jokes, and threats of gas chambers. The implicated names include state and national GOP youth figures in Kansas, New York, Arizona, and Vermont. The leaked messages have triggered calls for resignations, with some state chapters already deactivating. JD Vance defended the statements, saying he refuses to “join the pearl clutching.”
Common Sense takeaway: As a former Republican, I’m not shocked by these messages. This is the rhetoric that Republicans have been using in private, or wanting to use but didn’t feel empowered until Trump gave them the go-ahead. These people should all be removed from their positions and any form of leadership immediately.
Trump Admin Revokes Visas Over Anti-Kirk Posts….Donald Trump’s State Department announced Tuesday it had revoked the visas of six foreign nationals who criticized right-wing activist Charlie Kirk online after his assassination. The department declared, “The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans,” before listing “examples of aliens” who are now “no longer welcome in the U.S.” The thread included screenshots of posts from citizens of Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Paraguay, and South Africa — effectively doxxing some of them. One post read, “Charlie Kirk won’t be remembered as a hero. He was used to astroturf a movement of white nationalist trailer trash!”
Common Sense takeaway: The administration is weaponizing immigration law against foreign nationals who exercise their American right to free speech. Criticizing someone or their legacy is very different from calling for political violence! This is also the same administration that promised to end “social media censorship,” but they really just meant for them and no one else.
News Orgs Reject Pentagon Press Policy Over Free Press Fears….At least 30 major U.S. media outlets — including Reuters, NYT, and Washington Post — refused to sign a new Pentagon press access policy requiring them to acknowledge they could be considered “security risks” and face credential revocation if they probe certain topics. The Pentagon claims the rules are meant to safeguard sensitive information—but critics see it as an affront toward dissent and press freedom, saying it gives defense officials unprecedented power to restrict media coverage.
Common Sense takeaway: Freedom of the press is enshrined in the Constitution; any action taken to restrict our media from freely and fairly covering our government is a personal attack on our rights. I genuinely hope media outlets sue the Department of Defense for these new “policies.”
Meta Enforces PG-13 Filters for Teen Instagram Users….Instagram, owned by Meta, announced a major restriction on content for users under 18. Starting now, all teen accounts will default to a PG-13 content standard. Posts with strong language, drug references, risky stunts, or other mature themes will be hidden or unrecommended. Meta says the change is a response to pressure over teen safety and legal threats. The platform will use AI to enforce age predictions (even if a teen lies about their age), and parents can personally activate a stricter “Limited Content” mode that further censors comments, DMs, and interactions.
Common Sense takeaway: It’s about time tech companies take more steps to protect our kids from the dangers of social media. We know that consuming violence on the internet is a contributor to committing violence in real life. Now, if we could protect them from dangerous conspiracy theories and misinformation, that would be immaculate.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading Common Sense with Ally Sammarco. Check back tomorrow for more.
Excellent coverage. Thanks!
Just totally disgusting. What kind of kids were their parents raising?