We’re Demanding Better 2026 Election Coverage
Our democracy’s survival requires a newsroom reset.
Add your name to the below open letter to American journalists, editors, and media executives. Join us in demanding pro-democracy election coverage of the 2026 midterms!
OPEN LETTER
Dear American Journalists, Editors, and Media Executives:
We need you to stand up for America. Our democracy is under attack. The 2026 elections are not normal elections. The outcomes could actually determine if American democracy survives. Our democratic principles continue to be degraded by an authoritarian movement at odds with Constitutional order, the rule of law and the common good.
In one year, America’s democracy ranking has plummeted from 20th to 51st place on the V-Dem scale of global democracies. Harvard Professor Steven Levitsky, author of the book How Democracies Die, has downgraded America to “competitive authoritarianism.” Historian Timothy Snyder recently said: “We are now two months from the American midterm elections, probably the most consequential election since the eighteenth century. Given that the presidency is held by an oligarch who wishes to bring our republic to an end, a victory of the opposition is a prerequisite for the maintenance of the rule of law and anything resembling political decency.”
Reporting unvarnished facts, uplifting democracy and condemning corruption is not partisan. In fact, for a truly free press, pro-democracy bias is crucial for the survival of our nation and Constitutional order.
We respectfully propose a set of guidelines for your 2026 election coverage below, emphasizing a switch in focus from polls and horse race coverage to policies, past governance, and behavior. Since American democracy has been degraded since our last proposals in 2024, we have modified and added guidelines to address the current circumstances. We keep the same three general thrusts:
Please do not treat the 2026 elections as traditional choices between Democratic and Republican candidates. Too many elections are now contests between those willing to uphold our democratic system and the rule of law and those trying to break it using violence, deceit, and intimidation. As political analysts Thomas Mann and Norm Ornstein warn: “balanced treatment of an unbalanced phenomenon distorts reality.”
Journalists are an essential pillar of democracy. You have a responsibility to inform Americans about anti-democratic actions and the stakes of these elections with the clarity, urgency and frequency this moment demands. Informative, brave journalism is required at this perilous time. We strongly recommend you calibrate your political coverage to adopt and adhere to practices that are pro-truth, pro-voting and pro-democracy.
Be courageous! We are rooting for you.
Respectfully,
The Media and Democracy Project
Adding your organization will be considered confirmation that you are authorized to sign on its behalf.
2026 Election Coverage Guidelines
MAKE THREATS TO DEMOCRACY CLEAR
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Cover attacks on any aspect of the First Amendment as an attack on democracy.
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Express solidarity and stand up for fellow journalists and news organizations when they are attacked or intimidated.
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Inform voters of the rights and freedoms they are losing because of government actions that subvert the Constitution and undermine democratic principles.
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Spotlight how corruption and nepotism are driving harmful policies that impact democracy and people’s lives.
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Avoid “sanewashing.” Don’t normalize abnormal behavior, instead call it out.
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Do not contribute to “democracy-washing,” when the reality is that American democracy is under siege and in jeopardy from an authoritarian movement.
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Prominently cover the Big Lie-fueled attacks on election legitimacy and voting rights.
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Report on the voter-suppressing effects of threats to send federal agents or the US military to polling places.
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Report on the harmful effects of concentrated power in the hands of a few oligarchs, especially those who control media such as Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch and Larry Ellison.
PROTECT AMERICANS FROM DISINFORMATION
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Inoculate Americans against a repeat of the Big Lie strategy that led to the riots at the Capitol by pre-bunking false claims about election integrity.
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Expose disinformation whenever it is used, and hold the source accountable.
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Explain that lying and disinformation are actual strategies for some politicians and their supporters.
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Don’t platform liars or act as a stenographer for those who repeatedly lie.
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Don’t set aside moral judgment when covering obvious lies.
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Avoid euphemisms that conceal uncomfortable realities. For example: Use “racist” instead of “racially charged,” “lie” instead of "inaccuracy," “war” instead of “kinetic action,” “discrimination” instead of “extreme vetting.”
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Remind your audience of any public figure’s refusal to honor election results and/or support of the January 6 insurrection when they appear in stories.
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Build public trust by explaining the newsroom decisions you make about election coverage.
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Have a plan for identifying and handling deepfakes.
COVER ELECTIONS LIKE THEY MATTER MORE THAN SPORTS SCORES
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Prioritize “the stakes, not the odds” of election outcomes and substantive coverage of the issues that matter to voters' lives rather than on the partisan spectrum.
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Do not engage in horse-race coverage that focuses on who’s ahead or behind. Don’t cover polls as newsworthy events or use prediction gambling markets.
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Make headlines accurate and informative, not clickbait.
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Avoid making misleading false equivalences between those who base policy stances on established facts and those promoting fringe, tenuous, or provably false claims.
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Do not normalize attacks on democratic principles, the rule of law, and the Constitution.
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Hold politicians and party leaders to account for their positions, statements, and behavior, and make them “own” outrageous claims.
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Celebrate and uplift election workers, voters, and the election process.