Summer Series 2026: The Future of News in a Social Media World

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June 22, 2026

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This article summarizes a panel discussion. The views expressed by participants do not necessarily reflect those of Across the Aisle^™ or its programs, including Free the Facts^™ and Answer the Call^™.

When information is everywhere, how do you determine what’s trustworthy?

As part of our 2026 Summer Series, Across the Aisle hosted a panel discussion on Thursday with content creators Maria Comstock, Cory Bradford, and Ethan Kelly on how social media is reshaping the way we understand politics, public policy, and current events.

Social media has undeniably democratized access to information and made the news more engaging and accessible than it was before. At the same time, this shift in media consumption raises important questions about accuracy, credibility, and journalistic integrity — challenges that content creators like Comstock, Bradford, and Kelly navigate every day.

At Across the Aisle, we are committed to helping the next generation understand America’s biggest challenges — from the national debt to Social Security’s insolvency crisis — by providing reliable, fact-based information. Below are key insights and practical tips from creators at the forefront of digital media on how to use social media as a tool for learning and avoid the pitfalls of misinformation.

Follow Creators You Trust & Keep the Bar for Accuracy High.

Comstock, Bradford, and Kelly agree that a changing media landscape shouldn’t mean a lower bar for accuracy. In fact, in a world where following and unfollowing your news sources is only a click away, the importance of consistent fact-checking is more important than ever.

“Technology has changed drastically in the past nine years, but the currency of authenticity and integrity has stayed constant,” said Kelly. “People won’t trust you. You lie to them once, and they’re going to abandon you.”

Comstock also reflected on the importance of creator credibility, saying, “I'm not going to spew misinformation online, I'm not going to fear-monger, I'm not going to sensationalize. And while (some) creators do do that, those aren't the ones that have long-term careers in this.”

At the end of the panel, she sent a message to the audience: “If [a creator has] lied before…they probably don’t deserve your viewership.”

Take Nothing at Face Value.

While Comstock, Bradford, and Kelly are committed to accuracy, they issued a clear warning about the importance of doing your own research online.

“As far as verifying information, it’s all about cross-referencing,” said Bradford. “You’ve got to find multiple sources, trustworthy sources.”

The reality is that there is too much misinformation on social media that we aren’t catching. Kelly said, “I see things come across my feed — news aggregate accounts — that you can tell…are completely run out of a chatbot…It’s crazy because sometimes these have hundreds of thousands of shares, and they’re completely fake news.”

Information Overload is a Privilege, Use it to Your Advantage.

The democratization of information may come with risks, but it also means there are more opportunities to learn about the challenges facing America from all sides and find solutions.

“Having content creators and more people from outside the normal, traditional means of media can improve the bipartisan aspect of media,” said Bradford. “We all know that there are only like five companies or maybe even less that own all of the…legacy media. So when you have people from the outside, it can be easier to get a more nuanced take.”

There’s power in nuance. According to Kelly, “If you really do want a career in politics ... take advantage of the information that’s at your disposal, because you can get it in a way that you couldn’t ten years ago. This is a great opportunity to… deepen your understanding about everything from fiscal [policy] to any other type of policy that matters to you.”

Comstock put it bluntly: “Being overwhelmed [by information] is kind of a privilege.”

More on Summer Series 2026

Since 2017, Across the Aisle has hosted an annual summer event series for D.C. interns and junior staff to learn about the issues facing their generation, network, and launch their careers in public service.

Click here to learn more about this year’s theme, our speaker lineup, and how you can reserve your spot.

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The federal budget is the itemized plan for public expenditures of the federal government. This includes mandatory and discretionary spending. The budget is compiled annually and is named after the proceeding fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. If a budget is not agreed upon by the start of the fiscal year, a government shutdown will be triggered unless Congress passes a continuing resoultion, which provides funding at existing levels for a period of time to allow for negotiations to continue.

Federal Budget

This ratio compares the federal government debt of a country to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), in other words, what it owes to what it produces. Expressed as a percentage, the higher the debt-to-GDP ratio of a country the more likely it is that a country will face economic challenges due to its debt.

Debt-to-GDP Ratio

The federal debt is the cumulative amount the federal government owes to bondholders, both foreign and domestic. This represents the total, historical difference between federal spending and revenue.

National Debt

The federal budget deficit is the annual difference between the federal government’s revenue and how much it spends.

Budget Deficit

GDP is the total monetary value of consumer goods and services within a country's economy. This calculation considers consumer spending, government spending, private domestic investment, and a country's imports and exports.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The U.S. federal government's sole source of income is tax revenue, which is primarily composed of individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, and payroll taxes. Other sources of tax revenue include excise taxes and estate taxes.

Tax Revenue

These bills provide and place limits on an agency's budget authority, the ability to spend government funds. There are 12 annual appropriations bills and occasional supplementary appropriations bills that obligate federal funds for specific purposes.

Appropriations Bills

Authorizing legislation is a prerequisite for Congress to appropriate budget authority, or the ability to spend government funds for various programs. Authorization laws also act as guidance on the appropriate level of funding to be set aside for specific programs. This might be in setting a limit, or it may simply authorize “such sums as may be necessary.”

Budget Authorizations

A congressional budget resolution establishes topline spending and deficit limits for the following fiscal year. Although not law, because it's not signed by the president, budget resolutions are enforceale using the rules of either chamber. By law, a budget resolution is to pass the House and Senate by April 15 of each year, which rarely happens.

Budget Resolution

The president's budget request kicks off the annual budget process and provides a breakdown of how the president would like Congress to enact tax and spending laws. This request is due on the first Monday in Feburary but is normally provided late.

Budget Request

Discretionary spending is the portion of the federal budget that Congress debates every year. There are 12 components of discretionary spending, and these are usually broken down into defense and non-defense spending.

Discretionary Spending

The programs that Congress is required to fund make up mandatory spending. This includes programs like Social Security, Medicare, and interest payments on the debt.

Mandatory Spending

What you pay for your own medical care.

Out-of-pocket Payments

Within the context of the Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund, insolvency means that Medicare is unable to cover the full cost of Part A (hospital care) benefits.

HI Trust Fund Involvency

Chronic conditions are diseases and conditions that usually last for 3 months or longer, such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and cancer.

Chronic Diseases

The percentage of the costs of a healthcare service that you pay (e.g., 20%). Coinsurance kicks in after you've paid your deductible.

Coinsurance

The amount you pay for healthcare services before your insurance begins to cover expenses.

Deductibles

Examples include disabilities that qualify the individual for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits (i.e., unable to engage in “substantial gainful activity” because of a medically-determined physical or mental impairment expected to last at least 12 months or until death), end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Long-term Disabilities

For every current recipient of Social Security, there are several active workers whose taxes are transferred directly to retirees. When Social Security began, there were dozens of workers per every recipient. That number has shrunk to just under three workers for every active Social Security recipient.

Worker-to-Beneficiary Ratio

As a covered worker, you pay Social Security taxes up to the taxable maximum. In 2025, that amount is $176,100. Since Social Security was never meant to function as a retirement program, wages subject to taxation were capped so that high-income individuals did not end up with Social Security payments many times what would be necessary to prevent poverty in old age.

Taxable Maximum

As the spouse of a Social Security recipient, you are entitled to additional benefits of up to one-half of their full benefits. You do not have to have a work history to receive this payment. If you have worked and are owed Social Security benefits, you get the maximum of what you are owed or your calculated spousal benefit.

Spousal Benefit

All funds in the OASDI trust funds are invested in "special issue securities" specifically created for Social Security. In effect, they are IOUs that the government pays to itself.

Special Issue Securities

In the context of Social Security, the "replacement rate" or "replacement ratio" is the percent of pre-retirement earnings that Social Security recipients can expect to receive. Median-income retirees typically expect around a mid-thirty percent replacement rate, low-income retirees get closer to fifty percent, and high-income retirees typically receive a mid-twenty percent replacement rate.

Replacement Rate

Every covered worker pays a payroll tax that includes a combined 12.4% up to the taxable maximum.

Payroll Tax

The primary insurance amount is the sum of three separate percentages of the AIME. It is the initial benefit a retiree receives, and it increases with any future COLA.

PIA

The Old Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund is what most people picture when they hear "Social Security." This trust fund pays benefits to retired workers and their spouses and dependents. It also pays benefits to the survivors of deceased retirees.

OASI

OASDI stands for Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance. It encompasses both the retirement portion of Social Security (OASI) and the disability insurance program (DI).

OASDI

The full retirement age began at 65 but is slowly increasing to the final age of 67 for those born in 1960 or later.

Full Retirement Age

Employers whose workers pay into Social Security also contribute 6.2% of each worker's payroll taxes. While it may seem like employers pay for half of all benefits, economists typically assume that any taxes paid by employers are in effect paid by employees, since in absence of the mandatory taxes, the employees would have higher wages by roughly the same amount.

Employer Contribution

Every covered worker contributes 6.2% of their paycheck in OASDI payroll taxes, which constitutes the "employee contribution" toward Social Security.

Employee Contribution

Future Social Security recipients can elect to retire early at 62 and receive reduced benefit payments. For more, click here.

Early Retirement Age

DI stands for Disability Insurance. While most people associate Social Security with retirement, it also technically encompasses disability insurance payments to almost nine million Americans.

DI

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Covered Earnings

The cost of living adjustment (COLA) is an annual adjustment for Social Security benefits designed to prevent losses in beneficiaries' purchasing power due to inflation.

COLA

Social Security recipients are not limited to retirees. In the OASI system, spouses are entitled to a spousal benefit, as are dependents of beneficiaries who are under the age of 19.

Beneficiary

Stands for average indexed monthly earnings. When a worker retires, the Social Security Administration summarizes up to 35 years of the worker's lifetime earnings and adjusts them for wage inflation. This number is then used to calculate the retiree's "PIA" or primary insurance amount.

AIME