Nonrival

May 08, 2026

Human experts + AI summaries - on public policy, economics, and technology.

40% of Americans Get Health Information from Social Media Influencers, Often by Accident

pew

• Two-fifths of U.S. adults get health and wellness information from social media influencers or podcasts, with most stumbling across this content rather than actively seeking it out
• People turn to health influencers primarily to make lifestyle changes, though younger adults are also motivated by entertainment value
• Most consumers say the information from influencers is similar to what they get from healthcare providers, though Black and lower-income Americans are more likely to report significant differences

Trump and Xi Will Meet Next Week, But Trade Wars Are Now the New Normal Between the US and China

atlantic_council

• Trump and Xi Jinping will meet in Beijing next week to discuss the tense economic relationship between the world's two largest economies, with trade disputes taking center stage
• The US is working to rebuild its "tariff wall" against China after the Supreme Court struck down previous tariffs, but recreating the same effective rates would require drastic measures that could trigger Chinese retaliation
• Rather than resolving underlying tensions, the summit will likely determine whether the countries enter a period of managed competition or renewed escalation—but either way, economic friction has become the baseline of US-China relations

Who Are America's Health and Wellness Influencers? Most Aren't Medical Professionals

pew

• Four in ten U.S. adults now get health and wellness information from social media influencers and podcasts, with half of those under 50 doing so
• While 41% of health and wellness influencers describe themselves as healthcare professionals, the majority do not mention medical credentials in their profiles
• These influencers are predominantly women (64%) who congregate on visual platforms like Instagram and TikTok, with many citing life experience rather than formal training as their expertise

In the News

France Orders Its 2.5 Million Civil Servants Off Microsoft and Google in Massive Digital Sovereignty Push

itif

• France's government has mandated that all ministries eliminate non-European digital dependencies by autumn 2026, affecting 2.5 million civil servants who must switch from Windows to Linux and abandon tools like Microsoft Teams and Google services.
• The directive prioritizes digital sovereignty over productivity, with no published cost-benefit analysis or performance targets, essentially choosing domestic vendors like Atos over foreign ones regardless of efficiency or cost.
• This represents one of Europe's most ambitious government technology shifts, with other major European economies watching closely as a potential model for their own digital sovereignty strategies.

Analysis

Europe's Immigration Integration Story Is Better Than the Political Debate Suggests

voxeu

• More than one in eight EU residents today is foreign-born, rising to nearly one in six in major economies, with this share growing significantly over the past decade
• Despite changing composition toward more non-EU migrants (who face greater challenges), the overall employment gap between migrants and natives has remained stable at about 9 percentage points
• Most migrants are long-term residents rather than recent arrivals, contradicting common perceptions that focus on immediate flows and crisis events

Also Worth a Look

• Most Americans Who Follow Health Influencers Don't Really Trust Them (pew)
• Hate Groups Stay Active Online by Either Repeating the Same Stories or Constantly Adding New Conspiracy Theories (the_conversation)
• What Americans Actually Learn from Health and Wellness Influencers (pew)
• Scientists Engineer Biodegradable Plastics That Can Be Infinitely Recycled Without Quality Loss (science)
• US and China Are Building Guardrails to Prevent Their AI Competition From Spiraling Into Crisis (hoover)
• What to Expect When Trump and Xi Meet Next Week (csis)
• Scientists Engineer Nanoparticles That Could Revolutionize Cancer Immunotherapy (science)