My heartbeat quickens as though a dangerous force is approaching. A tightness builds in my chest—some invisible hand is pressing uncomfortably against it. The subtle soreness in my jaw alerts me to the fact that it has been clenched for far too long.
What am I doing? I’m perfectly safe from harm on my couch, but I’m twenty minutes deep in an almost mindless, unceasing, paralyzing doomscrolling spiral. Despite the alarm bells ringing in my chest and my jaw, my thumb seems to have lost the ability to stop flicking the page from one devastating headline to the next. My eyes can’t look away. Like a loyal punching bag, my heart absorbs the blows of one nightmarish tale after another.
Too many morning routines sabotaged by catastrophic headlines had me yearning for a change. Peeling myself away from this pattern of behavior was more difficult than freeing a Brazil nut from its impenetrable shell. A part of me was shrouded by guilt: if I look away from the horrors, am I even a good activist? Another part of me felt addicted to “being in the know;” I couldn’t fathom the world continuing to spin without me knowing every detail.
I was trapped in the tangled, thorny weeds of doom-scrolling, and that is precisely where the system wanted me to be. A news headline crafted so perfectly to elicit fear in the reader is more likely to stave off action. Complacency blooms when stories continually present danger without sharing pathways for change, reasons to be hopeful, or context of what’s being done to address harm.
Therefore, reframing the ways in which you consume the news is, in and of itself, activism.
Intentionally seeking out the good stories, the wins and victories for justice, and the ways in which the oppressors are (if you can believe it) losing, is not an easy task. Without a roadmap, one must dig deep, wade through the thickest patches of stinging nettle, to find these stories, as they are purposefully hidden from the mainstream.
You will find that, once you reach them, the good news lifts you up. Your jaw may finally unclench, your breathing may ease as the invisible hand on your chest recedes. You may even find yourself thinking, “we are going to be okay,” as hyper-vigilance makes way for something more aligned and powerful.
Where to Find Alternative News Sources in Today’s World
As a seasoned Negative Nancy, it has taken me years to cultivate a few trusty sources of positive news that restore my faith in humanity. Without these, I would’ve likely given up on my activism, believing wholeheartedly that we are screwed. I highly recommend adding some, if not all of these outlets, to your news rotation:
1. Fix the News is independent, reader-funded media that reports on solutions, highlights progress, and returns 30% of their subscription revenue to grassroots charities across the globe. Every week, I get an email containing a carefully curated list of headlines on climate, social justice, conservation, and scientific progress that I would never have seen otherwise. This week, I learned:
● Total renewable energy generation across the globe is projected to outpace coal and gas by 2027, as solar is quickly overtaking wind to become the world’s second largest source of renewable energy.
● The Daintree in Australia, the planet’s oldest surviving rainforest at 180 million years old, was included in part of a massive land-back win for the Eastern Kuku Yalanji.
● The Trump administration’s plans to build a road through critically important wetlands in Alaska’s Izembek refuge were blocked, thanks to a federal judge who determined that this plan would be in direct violation of the Endangered Species Act.
Amanda Nelson is a political content creator and founder of YALLvote who blends history, political science, and civics to explain how power actually operates in the United States.
2. Reasons to Be Cheerful is “a dose of dopamine for your inbox.” As a nonprofit online magazine founded by artist and musician David Byrne, this independent media outlet spotlights the many reasons not to give up hope.
● My deep disdain for single-use products was eased when I learned about reverse vending machines tackling the single-use coffee cup crisis in Aarhus, Denmark and keeping over two million cups in circulation (instead of the landfill) since January 2024.
● As a biology major who once studied coral reef ecology, I was so thrilled to read about a conservation training program for women in Indonesia—part of a nonprofit called Coral Catch—that teaches restoration methods such as building artificial reefs and organizing beach cleanups.
3. Jess Natale is the woman behind So Informed, a social media page dedicated to breaking down politics and social issues. Jess is often candid with her followers (3.4 million on Instagram alone) about the pains of keeping up with the injustices across the world. This year, she began a weekly blog column lovingly titled “Everything Isn’t Total Shit: A Few Good Things Happened Recently.” It’s how I learned:
● 80 cities in 13 Latin American countries recently hit a sustainability milestone, with 10,000 electric buses now operating and avoiding over 10 million tons of CO2 emissions each year.
● Hungary’s government just banned the acquisition, breeding, keeping, training, display, and use of 25 groups of wild animals in circuses.
● The Cherokee Nation just banned hyperscale data center development on its tribal lands.
4. Sam Bentley is the author of “The Good Newsletter,” full of good news about the planet. He highlighted that in August 2026 alone:
● Uganda declared itself ebola-free after 42 days without a case
● Plans for the world’s first octopus farm in Spain, intending to raise and kill a million octopuses each year, were abandoned after intense protest
● A town in Finland is heating itself with the world’s largest sand battery that reduces heating emissions by 70%
5. Amanda Nelson is a self-described “amateur historian and politics nerd” whose posts truly restore my sanity. In particular, her hilarious twice-a-week posts titled “Donald Trump’s Ls of the Week” are often the highlights of my Tuesday and Friday mornings. They are how I learned:
● A Texas ban on drag shows was struck down by a judge
● The Trump administration’s plan to ban immigrant visas from 75 countries was struck down by a federal judge
● Construction activity in Big Bend National Park was put on pause after waves of pushback against Customs and Border Protection’s efforts to build a border wall
How Reframing News Shapes Our Perspectives and Perceived Agency
Have you heard any of these stories?
The deeper you look, the more you begin to realize that judges are halting many of the Trump administration’s extractive plans. You begin to understand that protests are preventing direct harms to the environment and to wildlife.
You begin to see the true scope of countless activists, whistleblowers, and everyday citizens who are going to extraordinary measures to defend democracy. It becomes clear that progress is happening right before our eyes.
The outlets above are five trust-worthy sources of real news from around the world that won’t spike your blood pressure, and if you go looking, there’s no doubt you’ll find more.
Heck, you might even crack a smile while reading. A little faith in humanity might be restored. Potential side-effects may include increased hope in humanity, inspiration to take action, bursts of whimsy, and relaxed shoulder muscles.
Most importantly, you will be directly resisting the systems that are designed to freeze you into silence, trap you in hopelessness, and paralyze you into complicity. By reading about the good, you are doing good—for your own mental health, for the planet, and for your communities.
