Editorial roundup: AI market jitters, social media disinformation and Ukraine policy dominate US opinion pages

Recent editorials from major United States and international publications have weighed in on artificial intelligence investment risks, the hazards of social media disinformation, restrictions on Ukraine's satellite communications, threats to congressional diversity, and warnings against great-power bargaining over Ukraine's future.

The Wall Street Journal argued that investors in artificial intelligence will eventually demand returns on capital, describing recent market swings as a reminder rather than a correction. The newspaper noted that many tech shares have taken a dive, sometimes by large percentages, dragging down the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 index. It cited one recent academic study calculating that American data-center hyperscalers alone would need to earn revenue equal to roughly 9% of gross domestic product per year by 2032 to break even on their investments. The Journal also warned that the sheer quantity of capital flowing into tech, much of it financed with debt through opaque private-credit markets, means a large-scale reappraisal could be painful.

The Dallas Morning News criticized social media platforms over the spread of a false claim that Texas state Representative James Talarico was seeking mental health assistance at a hospital in Ohio. The newspaper said Talarico had the flu, but his opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, insinuated in a post on X that the Democrat had had a nervous breakdown, after which algorithms amplified the claim. The editorial said social media as it now exists has become hazardous to the body politic, pointing to high-quality deepfake videos that can make people appear to say or do almost anything, and argued that Congress has not yet accepted its responsibility to better police social media platforms.

The Washington Post criticized the Trump administration's Ukraine policy, saying that weakening Ukraine's defenses while Russia batters its cities is a disgraceful way to pursue peace. The newspaper reported that restrictions on Ukraine's satellite communications disrupted missions against Russian military positions and supply lines inside Ukraine's territory and hobbled interceptor drones protecting Ukrainian population centers. It said the origin of the restrictions remains murky, noting that Reuters reported the order to limit access came from inside the White House, while the Telegraph reported that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk first proposed the restrictions to Trump. President Donald Trump denied responsibility, telling reporters: "It wasn't me, and I don't think it was Elon. I don't know if it was anybody." The Post also reported that an overnight barrage left at least 600,000 people without electricity and that all three combined heat and power plants in Kyiv came under attack. It said a bipartisan group of nine senators has called for an investigation by the Pentagon's inspector general.

The New York Times warned that partisan gerrymandering and recent Supreme Court decisions could reverse gains in Black congressional representation. The newspaper said about 60 representatives are Black, roughly equal to the Black share of the nation's population at about 14 percent, but that six Black members of Congress could lose their seats in this year's midterms, mostly because Republican state legislators redrew their districts for partisan advantage. It said another five to 14 Black members may lose their seats after more states gerrymander their maps in 2027 and 2028, and that by 2029 the number of Black members of Congress could fall by a quarter or even a third. The Times cited the Supreme Court's Rucho v. Common Cause decision and the April ruling in Louisiana v. Callais as driving forces, and quoted Representative James Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, saying of the legislators redrawing the lines: "They know exactly what they're doing."

The Guardian argued that Trump and Putin have no right to bargain away Ukraine's future, warning that if Trump agrees to negotiate Ukraine's future with Putin and China's Xi Jinping without Ukraine at the table, he will have handed the Russian leader a victory before talks begin. The newspaper said reports suggest the three leaders could meet at next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in China. It also said Trump's diesel deal appears to violate US law barring imports of Russian energy until Moscow ends its aggression against Ukraine, and called on more Republicans to stand up to the president.