BRIGHT Readers' Top 5 Stories of 2022

A look back at the stories that caught your attention!

BRIGHT readers, you clearly have a knack for engaging with the important stories of the day! Looking over the top five most-engaged stories of the year below, they touched on the big issues — freedom, immigration, and the economy. Notably missing: anything related to the midterms!

These stories haven’t been edited from when they originally appeared in BRIGHT and don’t reflect any updates or changes since they first appeared.

Cheers to 2023 🥂

PayPal Stock Tanks After $2,500 Fine Threat on Users

October 11, 2022
Over the weekend, news came out that PayPal would fine users $2,500 directly from their account if they were spreading “misinformation” or “hate, violence, racial or other forms of intolerance that is discriminatory.” Obviously all bad things that have been redefined to punish those on the right. The Daily Wire reported:

The report sparked outrage online, with many people tweeting pledges to dump the online payment facilitator. Particularly chilling was the fact that the policy said determinations of what could be deemed “misinformation,” or a threat to the “wellbeing” of other users was to be at the “sole discretion” of PayPal. The now-aborted policy said users could be liable for “damages” — including the removal of $2,500 “debited directly from your PayPal account” per offense.

As people started cancelling their accounts, PayPal soon claimed that the policy was released in error. A PayPal spokesperson said, “An [Accepted Use Policy] notice recently went out in error that included incorrect information. PayPal is not fining people for misinformation and this language was never intended to be inserted in our policy. We’re sorry for the confusion this has caused.”

On Monday, the market reacted. The Daily Wire reported:

PayPal’s value fell nearly $6 billion as backlash mounted. The company’s stock closed at $90.18 on Friday afternoon and was trading at $85.40 soon after the market opened on Monday — roughly a 5.3% decline as thousands of social media users reacting to The Daily Wire story over the weekend announced that they would cancel their accounts.

Greetings From Martha’s Vineyard, Wish You Weren’t Here!

September 19, 2022
Governors Abbott and DeSantis are gaining a lot of attention for busing illegal immigrants to cities that support illegal immigration. Democratic governor candidate Charlie Crist said it was "to score political points and feed red meat to his base.” Democratic Congressman Bill Keating said that “history does not look kindly on leaders who treat human beings like cargo.” Massachusetts State Representative Dylan Fernandes called it “evil and inhumane.”