Fabio Sabatini
@fabiosabatini.bsky.social
Professor of Economics, Sapienza University of Rome | IZA Fellow, Bonn | fabiosabatini.site.uniroma1.it | Substack: https://fabiosabatini.substack.com/
The post is in Italian for now. I’ll publish an English version this weekend on The Civic Economist (the international edition of my Substack).
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11/11
civiceconomist.substack.com
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11/11
civiceconomist.substack.com
The Civic Economist | Fabio Sabatini | Substack
At the intersection of economics, politics, and civic responsibility.
Written by Fabio Sabatini, economics professor and advocate for public reasoning, The Civic Economist offers clear-eyed analysis o...
civiceconomist.substack.com
February 6, 2026 at 8:31 AM
The post is in Italian for now. I’ll publish an English version this weekend on The Civic Economist (the international edition of my Substack).
If you want it in your inbox, you can subscribe via the blue button.
11/11
civiceconomist.substack.com
If you want it in your inbox, you can subscribe via the blue button.
11/11
civiceconomist.substack.com
This isn’t just an American story. It’s a pattern — and we need to learn to spot it early if we want to defend democracy.
10/11
10/11
February 6, 2026 at 8:31 AM
This isn’t just an American story. It’s a pattern — and we need to learn to spot it early if we want to defend democracy.
10/11
10/11
Information control is one pillar. Others include bending institutions to political ends, intimidating dissent, narrowing civil liberties, and rigging the rules to make elections less able to remove those in power.
9/11
9/11
February 6, 2026 at 8:31 AM
Information control is one pillar. Others include bending institutions to political ends, intimidating dissent, narrowing civil liberties, and rigging the rules to make elections less able to remove those in power.
9/11
9/11
In a the new Substack post linked at the top of this thread, I lay out the larger shift the Trump administration has set in motion.
The U.S. is no longer a liberal democracy. It’s moving into competitive authoritarianism.
8/11
The U.S. is no longer a liberal democracy. It’s moving into competitive authoritarianism.
8/11
February 6, 2026 at 8:31 AM
In a the new Substack post linked at the top of this thread, I lay out the larger shift the Trump administration has set in motion.
The U.S. is no longer a liberal democracy. It’s moving into competitive authoritarianism.
8/11
The U.S. is no longer a liberal democracy. It’s moving into competitive authoritarianism.
8/11
That’s how you decide which narratives become mainstream and which stay confined to niches, in the U.S. and in Europe.
Right now, that choke point is in the hands of oligarchs tied to the MAGA power network.
7/11
Right now, that choke point is in the hands of oligarchs tied to the MAGA power network.
7/11
February 6, 2026 at 8:31 AM
That’s how you decide which narratives become mainstream and which stay confined to niches, in the U.S. and in Europe.
Right now, that choke point is in the hands of oligarchs tied to the MAGA power network.
7/11
Right now, that choke point is in the hands of oligarchs tied to the MAGA power network.
7/11
But the deeper issue is upstream. Whoever controls the major platforms — and, increasingly, the chatbots that are replacing web browsing — controls which narratives dominate and which are pushed to the margins, in the United States as well as in Europe.
6/11
6/11
February 6, 2026 at 8:31 AM
But the deeper issue is upstream. Whoever controls the major platforms — and, increasingly, the chatbots that are replacing web browsing — controls which narratives dominate and which are pushed to the margins, in the United States as well as in Europe.
6/11
6/11
Case in point: on Wednesday, the Washington Post cut roughly a third of its staff and slashed international coverage.
Marissa Lang — a Pulitzer winner for her reporting on January 6 — was among those let go.
The Ukraine team was dissolved.
5/11
Marissa Lang — a Pulitzer winner for her reporting on January 6 — was among those let go.
The Ukraine team was dissolved.
5/11
February 6, 2026 at 8:31 AM
Case in point: on Wednesday, the Washington Post cut roughly a third of its staff and slashed international coverage.
Marissa Lang — a Pulitzer winner for her reporting on January 6 — was among those let go.
The Ukraine team was dissolved.
5/11
Marissa Lang — a Pulitzer winner for her reporting on January 6 — was among those let go.
The Ukraine team was dissolved.
5/11
The fact that some independent outlets still exist shouldn’t fool anyone. You don’t need overt censorship. Starve a newsroom of resources, shrink its reach, and the effect is the same.
4/11
4/11
February 6, 2026 at 8:31 AM
The fact that some independent outlets still exist shouldn’t fool anyone. You don’t need overt censorship. Starve a newsroom of resources, shrink its reach, and the effect is the same.
4/11
4/11
The same investors have taken over TikTok’s U.S. operation — and they’re now circling Warner Bros, the parent company of CNN.
A small circle of billionaire owners, aligned with Trump’s coalition, now sits on top of social platforms, AI systems, and legacy newsrooms.
3/11
A small circle of billionaire owners, aligned with Trump’s coalition, now sits on top of social platforms, AI systems, and legacy newsrooms.
3/11
February 6, 2026 at 8:31 AM
The same investors have taken over TikTok’s U.S. operation — and they’re now circling Warner Bros, the parent company of CNN.
A small circle of billionaire owners, aligned with Trump’s coalition, now sits on top of social platforms, AI systems, and legacy newsrooms.
3/11
A small circle of billionaire owners, aligned with Trump’s coalition, now sits on top of social platforms, AI systems, and legacy newsrooms.
3/11
Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post, Amazon Prime Video, and Twitch.
Skydance’s Paramount deal effectively handed CBS to the Ellisons, who moved fast to steer its editorial direction.
2/11
Skydance’s Paramount deal effectively handed CBS to the Ellisons, who moved fast to steer its editorial direction.
2/11
February 6, 2026 at 8:31 AM
Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post, Amazon Prime Video, and Twitch.
Skydance’s Paramount deal effectively handed CBS to the Ellisons, who moved fast to steer its editorial direction.
2/11
Skydance’s Paramount deal effectively handed CBS to the Ellisons, who moved fast to steer its editorial direction.
2/11
Uno schema che non riguarda solo gli Stati Uniti e che dobbiamo imparare a riconoscere per difendere la democrazia.
3/3
3/3
February 5, 2026 at 10:58 AM
Uno schema che non riguarda solo gli Stati Uniti e che dobbiamo imparare a riconoscere per difendere la democrazia.
3/3
3/3
Senza carri armati: attraverso la riconversione funzionale delle istituzioni, l’intimidazione del dissenso, il controllo dell’ecosistema informativo e la compressione degli spazi di libertà civile, a partire dal voto.
2/3
2/3
February 5, 2026 at 10:58 AM
Senza carri armati: attraverso la riconversione funzionale delle istituzioni, l’intimidazione del dissenso, il controllo dell’ecosistema informativo e la compressione degli spazi di libertà civile, a partire dal voto.
2/3
2/3
They are pursuing personal power and private advantage in ways that dovetail with the strategic objectives of the Russian regime and other authoritarian systems openly hostile to Europe and its member states.
14/14
14/14
February 3, 2026 at 9:34 AM
They are pursuing personal power and private advantage in ways that dovetail with the strategic objectives of the Russian regime and other authoritarian systems openly hostile to Europe and its member states.
14/14
14/14
One conclusion nonetheless stands out. Political forces that consistently oppose European integration and align with Putin’s Russia, while branding themselves as “nationalist,” are not advancing national interests — European or otherwise.
13/14
13/14
February 3, 2026 at 9:34 AM
One conclusion nonetheless stands out. Political forces that consistently oppose European integration and align with Putin’s Russia, while branding themselves as “nationalist,” are not advancing national interests — European or otherwise.
13/14
13/14
What is clear, however, is that events have moved beyond the point where further revelations from the Epstein files are likely to shift public opinion. The contemporary information ecosystem is increasingly resistant to empirical evidence, even when that evidence is overwhelming.
12/14
12/14
February 3, 2026 at 9:34 AM
What is clear, however, is that events have moved beyond the point where further revelations from the Epstein files are likely to shift public opinion. The contemporary information ecosystem is increasingly resistant to empirical evidence, even when that evidence is overwhelming.
12/14
12/14
In any case, blaming democratic backsliding on a single external conspiracy would be comforting but misleading. The erosion of liberal democracy has deep internal causes.
11/14
11/14
February 3, 2026 at 9:34 AM
In any case, blaming democratic backsliding on a single external conspiracy would be comforting but misleading. The erosion of liberal democracy has deep internal causes.
11/14
11/14
Whether — and to what degree — the network surrounding Epstein materially supported populist movements, or whether such support directly affected electoral outcomes — from Brexit to the rise of the far right in Italy — is something we may never be able to establish definitively.
10/14
10/14
February 3, 2026 at 9:34 AM
Whether — and to what degree — the network surrounding Epstein materially supported populist movements, or whether such support directly affected electoral outcomes — from Brexit to the rise of the far right in Italy — is something we may never be able to establish definitively.
10/14
10/14
This ecosystem includes consolidated autocracies such as Russia; competitive authoritarian governments such as the Trump administration; anti-system parties within liberal democracies — from AfD to Reform UK, from France’s Rassemblement National to Italy’s Lega and Five Star Movement.
9/14
9/14
February 3, 2026 at 9:34 AM
This ecosystem includes consolidated autocracies such as Russia; competitive authoritarian governments such as the Trump administration; anti-system parties within liberal democracies — from AfD to Reform UK, from France’s Rassemblement National to Italy’s Lega and Five Star Movement.
9/14
9/14
What matters is the practical convergence of goals, rhetoric, and behavior — above all, a shared hostility toward the core foundations of liberal democracy: pluralism, minority protection, the rule of law, institutional constraints on executive power.
8/14
8/14
February 3, 2026 at 9:34 AM
What matters is the practical convergence of goals, rhetoric, and behavior — above all, a shared hostility toward the core foundations of liberal democracy: pluralism, minority protection, the rule of law, institutional constraints on executive power.
8/14
8/14
It operates instead as a flexible network of cooperation across regimes, parties, economic actors, and media platforms. Participation does not require an explicit rejection of democracy.
7/14
7/14
February 3, 2026 at 9:34 AM
It operates instead as a flexible network of cooperation across regimes, parties, economic actors, and media platforms. Participation does not require an explicit rejection of democracy.
7/14
7/14