DIThe Distraction Index

#ethics

12 events across 11 weeks

2Damage
7Hype
3Noise
11.1Avg Dmg
30.9Avg Hype
WEEK 84Aug 2 – 8
HYPE2026-08-01
Trump Profiting from Social Media Policy Announcements
Norm Erosion Onlyfederal · broad
Damage
11.0
Hype
31.0
WEEK 83Jul 26 – Aug 1
DMG2026-07-30
Blanche Nomination and Payouts to Trump Allies
Personnel Capturefederal · narrow
Damage
29.8
Hype
20.0
WEEK 82Jul 19 – 25
HYPE2026-07-19
Trump Teleprompter Operator Placed on Unpaid Leave for Prediction Market Betting
Personnel Capturefederal · narrow
Damage
0.1
Hype
65.5
WEEK 81Jul 12 – 18
HYPE2026-07-18
Paying for Early Access to Trump Truth Social Raises Ethical Issues
Norm Erosion Onlyfederal · narrow
Damage
2.4
Hype
31.5
WEEK 72May 10 – 16
NOISE2026-05-10
Sean Duffy Criticized for 'Tone Deaf' Family Reality Show
Norm Erosion Onlyfederal · narrow
Damage
1.4
Hype
31.0
WEEK 61Feb 22 – 28
DMG2026-02-24
Defense Secretary Hegseth Pressures Anthropic on AI Military Use
Resource Reallocationfederal · narrow
Damage
27.2
Hype
21.5
WEEK 33Aug 10 – 16
NOISE2025-08-16
Democrats Revolt Over Noem Living at Coast Guard Base After Doxing
Norm Erosion Onlyfederal · narrow
Damage
3.0
Hype
24.1
WEEK 30Jul 20 – 26
HYPE2025-07-26
House Ethics Panel Orders AOC to Pay for Met Gala Attendance
federal · narrow
Damage
2.1
Hype
29.2
WEEK 23Jun 1 – 7
HYPE2025-06-07
Trump Surgeon General Pick Criticized for Conflicts of Interest
Personnel Capturefederal · narrow
Damage
8.4
Hype
24.9
WEEK 21May 18 – 24
HYPE2025-05-23
Whoopi Goldberg Criticizes Trump for Accepting Qatari Jet
Damage
0.2
Hype
28.1
HYPE2025-05-23
Trump Joins Dinner with Meme Coin Investors; White House Denies Conflicts
Information Operationfederal · narrow
Damage
38.8
Hype
54.3
WEEK 2Jan 5 – 11
NOISE2025-01-11
Trump Organization Not Banning Private Foreign Deals
Norm Erosion Onlyfederal · narrow
Damage
9.1
Hype
9.4