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Is there any way to wear a Newsom Was Right About Everything! hat, but ironically? Even if youre an earnest fan, its still meant as a joke. Californias Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsoms political action committee Campaign for Democracy recently launched merch that parodies President Donald Trumps. Dubbed the Patriot Shop, the storefront sells unserious items with serious stakes. The shop features apparel like the $32 hats designed in the style of a Trump hat, a $20 Newsom 2026 mug, and a two-pack of California-flag themed Dont Poke the Bear stickers for $6. Newsom said the store made more than $100,000 in a day, and thats with leaving money on the table. The sold out $100 Bible was never actually for sale (Trumps, for $60, still is, however, and that seems to be the point), and though Newsom tweeted an image of a Make America Gavin Again flag suitable for boat parades, the flag is not actually available on the site. The new merch turns memes into fundraising by taking on the tone and content of Newsoms GovPressOffice account on X. In mocking Trumps social media phrasing, sentence structures, and capitalization through imitation, Newsoms office has used the account to trick Fox News hosts into criticizing Trumps behavior without realizing it. [Image: Campaign for Democracy] As the highest profile elected officials in their states, governors are inherently brand ambassadors, and their jobs offer them a unique platform to build a national profile. In the lead up to the 2024 presidential campaign, Floridas Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis built name ID for himself as governor through culture wars fights like his war on Disney, and selling merch like a Florida gator Gadsden flag that said Dont Tread on Florida. DeSantiss Make America Florida message didnt help him win, but with a Florida Man in the White House today, its not clear campaigning on the Floridization of America was the reason why. Newsom now offers Californication, and with the Election Rigging Response Act, his job as Californian-in-chief has taken on new urgency. The legislation, which passed the California legislature and now heads to voters, will determine whether the state throws out districts drawn by a nonpartisan redistricting commission for new maps more favorable to Democrats through 2030, and it comes after Texas redrew its maps at Trumps request to favor Republicans. For Newsom, this isnt just about building a brand as governor, hes building a bulwark against Trump that Democrats nationwide are noticing. Californias politics are again nationalized, and Newsom is leading the fight. His merch and memes may be a joke, but in taking trolling seriously, Newsoms found a way to trigger the cons and fundraise off it by holding a mirror up to MAGA. This story originally appeared on Yello, a Substack about design and politics.
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Microplastics seem to be everywherein the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. They have turned up in human organs, blood, testicles, placentas, and even brains. While the full health consequences of that exposure are not yet known, researchers are exploring potential links between microplastics and negative health effects such as male infertility, inflammation, liver disease and other metabolic problems, and heart attack or stroke. Countries have tried for the past few years to write a global plastics treaty that might reduce human exposure to plastic particles and their harm to wildlife and ecosystems, but the latest negotiations collapsed in August 2025. Most plastics are made with chemicals from fossil fuels, and oil-producing countries, including the U.S., have opposed efforts that might limit plastics production. While U.S. and global solutions seem far off, policies to limit harm from microplastics are gaining traction at the state and local levels. Marine animals ingest microplastics from the water and as theyre eating. These were found in marine animals at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research near Athens, Greece, in 2025. [Photo: Milos Bicanski/Getty Images] As an environmental lawyer and author of the book Our Plastic Problem and How to Solve It, I see four promising policy strategies. Banning added microplastics: Glitter, confetti, and turf Some microplastics are deliberately manufactured to be small and added to products. Think glitter in cosmetics, confetti released at celebrations, and plastic pellet infill, used between the blades in turf fields to provide cushion and stability. These tiny plastics inevitably end up in the environment, making their way into the air, water, and soil, where they can be inhaled or ingested by humans and other organisms. California has proposed banning plastic glitter in personal care products. No other state has pursued glitter; however, some cities, such as Boca Raton, Florida, have restricted plastic confetti. In 2023, the European Union passed a ban on all nonbiodegradable plastic glitter as well as microplastics intentionally added to products. Personal care products, particularly makeup, have added glitter in recent years. However, when that makeup is washed off, it often goes down drains and into wastewater, adding to plastics in the environment. [Photo: Bernadett Grega/Unsplash] Artificial turf has also come under scrutiny. Although turf is popular for its low maintenance, these artificial fields shed microplastics. European regulators targeted turf infill through the same law for glitter, and municipalities in Connecticut and Massachusetts are considering local bans. Infill flies up from artificial turf as a high school soccer player kicks the ball in 2022. [Photo: Isaac Wasserman for The Washington Post via Getty Images] Rhode Islands proposed law, which would ban all intentionally added microplastics by 2029, is broad enough to include glitter, turf, and confetti. Reducing secondary microplastics: Textiles and tires Most microplastics dont start small; rather, they break off from larger items. Two of the biggest culprits of secondary microplastics are synthetic clothing and vehicle tires. A study in 2019 estimated that textiles accounted for 35% of all microplastics entering the oceanshed from polyester, nylon, or acrylic clothing when washed. Microplastics can carry chemicals and other pollutants, which can bioaccumulate up the food chain. In an effort to capture the fibers before they are released, France will require filters in all new washing machines by 2029. Several U.S. states, including Oregon, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, are considering similar legislation. California came close in 2023, passing legislation to require microfiber filters for washing machines, but it was ultimately vetoed due to concerns about the cost of adding the filters. Even so, data submitted in support of the bill showed that such filters could cut microplastic releases from laundry by nearly 80%. Some states, such as California and New York, are considering warnings on clothing made with synthetic fibers that would alert consumers to the shedding of microplastics. Tires are another large source of microplastics. As they wear down, tires release millions of tons of particles annually, many of which end up in rivers and oceans. These particles include 6PPD-quinone, a chemical linked to mass die-offs of salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Synthetic rubber in vehicle tires shed particles into the environment as the tires wear down. [Photo: Wenson Wei/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY] One approach would be to redesign the product to include safer alternatives. Californias Department of Toxic Substances Control recently added 6PPD-quinone to its priority product list, requiring manufacturers to explain how they will either redesign their product or remove it from the market. Regulating disposal Microplastics can also be dealt with at the disposal stage. Disposable wipes, for example, contain plastic fibers but are still flushed down toilets, clogging pipes and releasing microplastics. States such as New York, California and Michigan have passed no-flush labeling laws requiring clear warnings on packaging, alerting consumers to dispose of these wipes another way. Construction sites also contribute to local microplastic pollution. Towns along the New Jersey shore have enacted ordinances that require builders to prevent microplastics from entering storm drains that can carry them to waterways and the ocean. Such methods include using saws and drills with vacuums to reduce the release of microplastics and cleaning worksites each day. Oregon and Colorado have new producer responsibility laws that require manufacturers that sell products in plastic packaging to fund recycling programs. California requires manufacturers of expanded polystyrene plastic products to ensure increasing levels of recycling of their products. Statewide strategies and disclosure laws Some states are experimenting with broader, statewide strategies based on research. Californias statewide microplastic strategy, adopted in 2022, is the first of its kind. It requires standardized testing for microplastics in drinking water and sets out a multiyear road map for reducing pollution from textiles, tires, and other sources. California has also begun treating microplastics themselves as a chemical of concern. That shifts disclosure and risk assessment obligations to manufacturers, rather than leaving the burden on consumers or local governments. Other states are pursuing statewide strategies. Virginia, New Jersey, and Illinois have considered bills to monitor microplastics in drinking water. A Minnesota bill would study microplastics in meat and poultry, and the findings and recommendations could influence future consumer safety regulations in the state. State and local initiatives in the U.S. and abroadbe they bans, labels, disclosures, or studiescan help keep microplastics out of our environment and lay the foundation for future large-scale regulation. Federal ripple effects These state-level initiatives are starting to influence policymakers in Washington. In June 2025, the U.S. House passed the bipartisan Wastewater Infrastructure Pollution Prevention and Environmental Safety (WIPPES) Act, modeled on state no-flush laws, and sent it to the Senate for consideration. Another bipartisan bill was introduced in July 2025, the Microplastic Safety Act, which would direct the FDA to research microplastics human health impacts, particularly on children and reproductive systems. Proposals to require microfiber filters in washing machines, first tested at the state level, are also being considered at the federal level. This pattern is not new. A decade ago, state bans on wash-off cosmetic microbeads paved the way for the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, the only federal law to date that directly bans a type of microplastic. That history suggests todays state and local actions could again catalyze broader national reform. Small steps with big impact Microplastics are a daunting challenge: They come from many sources, are hard to clean up once released, and pose risks to our health and the environment. While global treaties and sweeping federal legislation remain out of reach, local and state governments are showing a path forward. These microsolutions may not eliminate microplastics, but they can reduce pollution in immediate and measurable ways, creating momentum for larger reforms. Sarah J. Morath is a professor of law and an associate dean for international affairs at Wake Forest University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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We all know AI is eating the internet, with bots scraping sites for content and not giving anything in return. This, of course, is the impetus behind the many lawsuits that are playing out between media companies and the big AI labs, but in the here and now, the question remains what to do about those bots. Blocking them is an option, but how effective is it? And what types of content are most at risk of being scraped and substituted by AI answers? And can you actually get AI bots to pay up? A good place to start finding answers is the most recent State of the Bots report from AI startup TollBit. For publishers that are feeling the heat of AI, it attaches real numbers to the presence of AI in the media ecosystem and how quickly it’s growing. And while the rise of AI bots is a worrisome trend to those in the content business, it may also be an opportunity. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/mediacopilot-logo-ss.png","headline":"Media CoPilot","description":"Want more about how AI is changing media? Never miss an update from Pete Pachal by signing up for Media CoPilot. To learn more visit mediacopilot.substack.com","substackDomain":"https:\/\/mediacopilot.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}} Bots in disguise In the interest of maximizing that opportunity, TollBit is doing more with this report than simply offering up charts and graphs. It’s also taking a stand, arguing that AI bots that crawl the internet should at the very least identify themselves to the sites they visit and scrape. The company is openly calling for regulation to force the issue, something CEO Toshit Panagrahi told me back in June after its previous State of the Bots report showed that certain bots from the likes of Perplexity, Meta, and Google were openly ignoring the Robots Exclusion Protocol, which websites use to manage bot traffic. There is some nuance to that. I wont rehash the entire thing here, but briefly: certain AI bots perform tasks on behalf of users (as opposed to training or search bots), and those are designated user agents. That affords them a certain status, at least according to AI companies: Because they are essentially human proxies, they believe sites should treat them as humans, not bots. So they don’t identify themselves as bots. What this does, at the very least, is make it very hard to tell what’s real human trafficthat is, a person navigating to a website and looking at a screenversus a robot doing the same thing. That’s going to make it very difficult to get accurate data about bot traffic, and TollBit predicts that the amount of “human” traffic will probably rebound once user agents become more common, but that’s only because trackers won’t be able to tell the difference between them and actual people. You can see the impetus to get bots to self-identify, but let’s assume that doesn’t happen, and a significant amount of traffic falls into this gray area: seemingly human but not behaving as such. Those ersatz humans won’t ever interact with advertising, and once that becomes evident, it will cheapen the value of advertising on the web overall. We may never technically reach Google Zero, but margins will be stripped so low that Google 30 might look more like Google 10. The content AI craves Something else the TollBit report reveals, though, is what kind of content appears to be of greatest interest to the AI crawlers, or rather, the people using AI engines for discovery. While the data isn’t definitive, it’s fair to conclude that if a particular category of content is being scraped more often, there are more people sending AI crawlers and user agents to get it. That, in turn, might help guide content strategy. By far the No. 1 category being scraped is B2B content, followed by parenting, sports, and consumer tech. Parenting, in fact, saw a big increase this past quarter, meaning more people are turning to AI portals for answers about parenting issues. If you produce content for parents (and this applies to any category that’s highly crawled by AI), you should consider a few things: Your content is at high risk of substitution by AI answers. That means it’s valuable to AI companies. You can point to the data as leverage in licensing negotiations (or a lawsuit). It sounds simple, but getting a major AI provider to license your content isn’t something that any site can do. OpenAI, by far the most prolific deal-maker, has signed only a few dozen agreements. And lawsuits are costly. If you’re a parenting site, you’re not just going to stop doing parenting content, so you have a choice: block the bots, or let them crawl to ensure your presence in AI answers. While the referral traffic remains negligible (we’re effectively already at “ChatGPT Zero”), there are intangibles, mostly brand presence, that being in an AI answer provide. You can’t build a business on intangibles, though, and that leaves the other option: blockingor rather, redirecting bots to a paywall. TollBit’s data does show that more bots than before are being successfully redirected to “forbidden” pages or hitting the company’s own paywalls. The illusion of control The key question, though, which the report doesn’t answer, is how many of those bots are actually paying up? The lack of answer suggests the number is quite low, and that’s because it’s simply too easy to access the content in another way. As the report describes, there are sophisticated ways for AI companies to use relays, third-party systems, and different species of bots to scrape content. And the “gray” status of consumer browser agents makes things even murkier. The number of ways to access blocked content are myriad. That’s ultimately why TollBit has taken its stance that bots should be required to self-identify, backed by legal teeth. It’s hard to imagine AI companies self-regulating in the interest of another industryin this case, the mediawithout some kind of regulatory pressure. Otherwise, we can look forward to something else: a lot more paywalls on parenting sites. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/mediacopilot-logo-ss.png","hadline":"Media CoPilot","description":"Want more about how AI is changing media? Never miss an update from Pete Pachal by signing up for Media CoPilot. To learn more visit mediacopilot.substack.com","substackDomain":"https:\/\/mediacopilot.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}}
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