Anti-Russia narrative

This is precisely the kind of personalistic politics that authoritarian leaders relish. Bolsanaro embraced Trump for the same reasons. Now that the world's democracies have closed ranks against Putin, he's reached out and found a pliable ally in Bolsanaro, who in turn is looking to legitimize himself on the world stage.

Pro-Russia narrative

Bolsanaro's visit to Europe will allow the Brazilian leader to interface with strong leaders who share similar values, including Putin, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Polish President Andrzej Duda. These are values shared by the former US President Trump as well, and which are repudiated by radical leftists combined with Big Tech and international media conglomerates.

Democratic narrative

While the president has seen his approval ratings plummet, the outlook for other Democrats isn't nearly as bad – and has even been looking up ahead of the midterms. SCOTUS' overturning of Roe v. Wade, and extremist Trump-like candidates running for the GOP have given Democratic voters a reason to get out and vote.

Republican narrative

Democrats are running against history, as the party in power almost always loses ground in Congress in midterm elections. With Biden's approval ratings remaining low, if the Republicans focus on rampant inflation, crime, and the economy, the GOP can certainly win the House and possibly the Senate, too.

Nerd narrative

There's a 41% chance that the Republican party will control both the House and the Senate after the 2022 midterm elections, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Establishment-critical narrative

The OPEC+ announcement is not only a slap in Biden's face, but underscores the tectonic geopolitical shifts in West Asia and Russia's growing influence. Instead of reflecting on its own failures, Washington is once again resorting to threats, which will only spur the continued evolution of a multipolar world order.

Pro-establishment narrative

The OPEC+ decision poses numerous risks for the free world. Washington must not give in to the pressure and should continue its plan for a price cap on Russian oil. The Biden administration should avoid any short-sighted response in the run-up to the midterm elections. As with the 1973 oil embargo, this production cut could ultimately prove to be a dangerous boon for the oil cartel.

Nerd narrative

There's a 50% chance that the price of oil will be at least $91.8 per barrel by December 2022, according to the Metaculus prediction community

Anti-Russia narrative

This invasion is an egregious violation of international law. Putin's ultimate aim is to restore the Soviet empire, even if it takes massive bloodshed and false pretexts such as calling the 2014 Ukrainian revolution after an election a "coup". This unprovoked attack is the latest chapter in Putin's Orwellian attempt to rewrite history.

Pro-Russia narrative

NATO and the US have ignored Russia's security concerns by breaking its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification. These concerns are legitimate and taking them seriously would have avoided the Ukraine tragedy.

Nerd narrative

There's a 50% chance that Ukraine will regain control of Kherson by Dec. 23, 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Pro-Russia narrative

Not only has Meta routinely censored narratives that oppose the West's stance, but the social media platform — which has been a loud advocate against hate speech — has also dangerously promoted "Russophobia." Meta has become a servant to the White House, and there's no room for its double standards in Russia.

Anti-Russia narrative

As Putin continues the war on Ukraine, free speech and the press environment in Russia have been almost entirely repressed. In an ironic, albeit unsurprising, turn of events, Moscow has now banned Meta after accusing the company of launching its own censorship agenda. By monitoring and suppressing social media, Russia will only continue its harsh crackdown on bringing media fully under state control.

Cynical narrative

Russia and the West are both pushing for unprecedented censorship in an attempt to win the ideas war. This is a dangerous violation of freedom of expression, a fundamental right of not only the speaker but also the audience. As history has shown time and again, nothing good comes of restricting speech, which only harms the society it purports to protect.

Nerd narrative

There's a 6% chance that YouTube will be blocked in Russia in 2022, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Pro-establishment narrative

Putin is failing in Ukraine, and it’s NATO’s responsibility to remain unified and flex its muscles — whether by holding nuclear exercises, ramping up economic sanctions, or increasing its defense of the Baltic Sea. Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a brazen violation of international law, and Kyiv deserves whatever protection NATO can provide.

Establishment-critical narrative

By encouraging Ukraine to go on the offensive, NATO and the US are escalating the war. Going through with these nuclear exercises only takes that escalation one step further. If the West really wants this war to end, it should be working toward a ceasefire or negotiated settlement. Its deliberate decision not to take this route, however, suggests its true aims are to weaken Russia and hurt its geostrategic interests, not save Ukraine.

Nerd narrative

There's a 21% chance of a "World War Three" before 2050, according to the Metaculus Prediction Community.

Left narrative

Inhumane animal confinement for pigs and other livestock is immoral, and it threatens the health and safety of consumers by compromising the immune systems of the animals we’re eating. The pork industry’s suit challenges the power of the people - Californians who voted the law into effect - in addition to taking animal rights backward.

Right narrative

California lawmakers often presume they know what's best for everyone. However, this law disproportionately and unfairly affects the rest of America. With more than 99% of the pork consumed in California coming from out of state, farmers in 49 other states shouldn't have to bear the brunt of the financial burden of this law.

Nerd narrative

There's a 55% chance that the Supreme Court will overturn California's Proposition 12 in National Pork Producers Council vs Ross by the end of 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Narrative A

Increasing rates is a painful but necessary measure to cool the housing market and ensure that prices align with rents and other market fundamentals. There was a significant imbalance between supply and demand, and housing prices were going up unsustainably fast, which is why the Fed has been right to step in until they're brought down to normal.

Narrative B

Contrary to the hopes of the Fed, high mortgage rates may become the new normal that home buyers and homeowners will have to adapt to and accept over time. It’s unlikely that a housing recession will destabilize the economy — as it did in 2008 — but people will have to pay more out of their income.

Establishment-critical narrative

Just because Zuckerberg changed Facebook's name to Meta and poured billions of dollars into his VR dreams doesn't mean it's necessarily a good thing. Besides the obvious issues of the new Quest VR being an overpriced and unimpressive gadget, the bigger concern is one of privacy Is drawing on a mediocre virtual whiteboard really worth allowing Meta to collect data on the most minute details of your face?

Pro-establishment narrative

With the business world already shifting to at least a partial work-from-home model, we should embrace the possibilities created by Meta's Quest VR in the workplace. With graphics and eye-scanning technology quickly improving, we'll soon be able to transport ourselves into a personable, realistic office setting with our peers without the hassle of a commute. This is an exciting device.

Nerd narrative

There's a 23% chance that Meta will report 1B active users by the end of 2031, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Pro-establishment narrative

Solicitation live streams like these are against TikTok's rules for good reason. Many of them, whether they're real or not, are exploiting children who don't benefit from their videos. Users should be cautious; there are exploitive grifters online no matter how hard social media platforms work to curb them.

Establishment-critical narrative

Though TikTok claims to be cracking down on these live streams and saying they're against the company's terms and conditions, many videos are shamefully still online. If TikTok was truly against these exploitive stunts, it would have simply shut them down earlier rather than take a cut for itself.