| THE BIG STORY
The Democratic Convention may seem awkward, but the party thinks it’s a test run for a virtual campaign
One thing’s for sure: the Democratic National Convention doesn’t look like the normal convention. The coronavirus has reduced a four-day celebration to a work-from-home webinar.
Democrats were going to gather in Milwaukee and kick off days of party-building meetings, but instead they are submitting themselves to the awkwardness and improvisation of webcasts and to the mercy of their internet connections.
Video segments and big speeches, many of them prerecorded from remote locations, are airing in primetime, but without the live audience applause from excited delegates who under normal circumstances would return to their communities amped to get out the vote.
For obvious reasons, Joe Biden’s team does not plan to engage in door-to-door canvassing or in-person events. So democrats see digital campaigning as the future, and they’re using this week as a test opportunity to figure out what works.
Also from the convention:
👉 Jacquelyn Brittany, a New York Times security guard whose encounter with Joe Biden was captured in a viral video, was the first to officially nominate him for president — a role usually reserved for elected officials.
👉 Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez nominated Bernie Sanders because of procedure — and to make a point. Her short speech was symbolic: Every candidate who brings delegates to the party convention is required to be formally nominated. Ocasio-Cortez used her limited convention time to celebrate the movement Sanders has led.
👉 Jill Biden’s convention speech focused on a nation dealing with loss — and how her husband overcame his.
Handout / Getty Images STAYING ON TOP OF THIS The postmaster general will delay the USPS changes that were blamed for mail delays
Earlier this summer, postmaster general Louis DeJoy announced some cost-cutting changes to the United States Postal Services operations. This included changing retail hours of post offices, cutting overtime for postal workers, removing collection boxes, closing facilities, and slowing the delivery of some mail.
The changes immediately sparked worries from both Republicans and Democrats that a slowed-down, inefficient Postal Service would hinder voting by mail leading up to Election Day.
But after a wave of criticism, DeJoy announced that he will suspend changes to the USPS, like removing mail collection boxes, until after the November presidential election.
SNAPSHOTS University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill canceled in-person classes this week. Some students say they should have never returned to campus. Six days after on-campus classes resumed, students were abruptly told that due to a COVID-19 spike, in-person lessons are canceled for the rest of the fall semester.
New Zealand lawmakers are hitting back at Trump for his comments about their coronavirus cases. President Donald Trump said the country is having a “huge surge.” New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern responded saying, “obviously it's patently wrong.” On Monday, the US recorded almost 38,000 new cases of COVID-19. New Zealand recorded just nine.
The latest TikTok trend is venting about your MAGA parents. Children of conservatives are drifting far from their parents, and they’re doing so in front of the entire world.
A Facebook executive protected hate speech in India. Now she wants police protection. Ankhi Das reportedly protected right-wing politicians from punishment for violating the social network’s rules — and is now facing death threats.
HERE WE GO AGAIN: AGAIN The Plandemic sequel is here. We give it zero stars.
In May, the first Plandemic video was published. It spread across the internet at an alarming rate, peddling vast conspiracies and easily disproved falsehood about the coronavirus, and feeding anxiety.
The video falsely says that masks can make wearers sick, that sand can cure the coronavirus, and that autism can be tied to vaccines. The claims are outlandish but the harm is real: millions of people have viewed Plandemic, and some of its claims have been amplified by major figures.
Not to let a franchise opportunity go to waste, a sequel has just arrived, titled Plandemic: Indoctrination. Its arrival represents a challenge for the social media sites that had mishandled the first video and let it spread widely: don’t make the same mistake again.
Jane Lytvynenko looks at how the sequel is being handled. And for good measure, her review is in: “As a piece of journalism, it is Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. As a piece of entertainment, it is Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.” Yikes.
MILE HIGH SCARE This guy’s TikTok about finding a broken window on a flight is giving a ton of people anxiety
Karl Haddad, 20, was on his last leg of a 27-hour journey from Lebanon: a flight from Toronto to Montreal. He was tired so he nodded off a bit as his plane was taking off.
But a half hour into the flight, he realized that the window he’s sleeping against is… a little broken. He alerted the flight attendant, who alerted the captain, who assured him they’d be “landing as soon as possible.”
Haddad documented what amounts to many people’s worst flying nightmare in a TikTok, and of course it went viral.
TikTok: Karl Haddad Be vigilant about your rest and restoration today, Elamin P.S. If you like this newsletter, help keep our reporting free for all. Support BuzzFeed News by becoming a member here. (Monthly memberships are available worldwide). 📝 This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.
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