Week-over-week Distraction Index:

Avg. constitutional damage: DOWN 4 points (19 → 15)
Events tracked: 45 → 29
High-damage events: 8 → 3

Trend matters. https://distractionindex.org/week/2026-06-21

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

RE: https://fediscience.org/@nyhan/116806050004450907

Any #civictech folks know if this is typical for handling personal info / PII in public comments?

In 60+ weeks of tracking the Distraction Index, we've scored 1,500+ political events on two axes:

🔴 Constitutional damage (real governance harm)
🟠 Distraction/Hype (media amplification)

When damage is high but coverage is low — that's the pattern we exist to expose.

https://distractionindex.org

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

Smokescreen pair spotted:

Distraction: "Supreme Court Rulings on Birthright Citizenship" (hype: 65.5/100)
Buried: "Executive Order Restricting Vote-by-Mail" (damage: 100/100)

One dominated your feed. The other actually mattered.

https://distractionindex.org/smokescreen

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

This week's Distraction Index (2026-06-21):

29 events scored.

Highest constitutional damage: "Executive Order Restricting Vote-by-Mail" (100/100)

Top distraction: "Record High Deportations Under Trump Administration" (76.3/100)

Full report: https://distractionindex.org/week/2026-06-21

#DistractionIndex #Democracy #ConstitutionalRights #CivicTech

This week in NYC's #CivicTech is out. Early voting is underway for the June 23 primary. Albany's tech session closed with big losses for the industry. The Charter Revision Commission wants public comment. Participatory budgeting is open online.

Plus a farewell from our Chief of Staff, Jazzy Smith, new jobs, and events.

#CivicTech #NYC #OpenData #PublicInterest #BetaNYC #NewYork

Read the full issue → https://beta.nyc/newsletter-2026-week25