Democracy has always been a trust exercise. It assumes that voters will have access to honest information, that candidates will play by the rules, and that the systems around an election will protect the public’s right to know the truth. But in a hyperconnected world, that trust can be shattered by a single viral lie. With the local government elections set to take place on November 4, South Africa’s Electoral Commission (IEC) is taking the threat of disinformation seriously, and it is not doing so alone. The IEC has announced a powerful new partnership with some of the biggest names…

For more than a century, credit rating agencies have served as the quiet gatekeepers of the American financial system, their letter grades determining everything from the interest rates on municipal bonds to the confidence investors place in public infrastructure. But on October 15, 2026, a powerful coalition of 22 state financial officers decided that these gatekeepers had strayed dangerously off course. In a formal warning addressed to Moody’s Investors Service, Fitch Ratings, and S&P Global Ratings, the officials levied a pointed accusation: the agencies have allowed environmental, social, and governance criteria—commonly known as ESG—to contaminate the objective assessment of municipal…