FiveThirtyEight’s top stories this week

A [FiveThirtyEight]( email [Popular This Week] Sunday, February 26, 2023 [1. ChatGPT Thinks Americans Are Excited About AI. Most Are Not.]( [0224_POLLA-4×3]( Before you ask: ChatGPT did not write this article. I will admit that I did ask the AI chatbot to write an 800-word article in FiveThirtyEight’s style about current public opinion on AI chatbots like ChatGPT, but our collaboration disintegrated amid editorial differences. (If you’re curious what ChatGPT had to say, though, you can read its take at the bottom of the page.) [Read more]( [2. Can The NBA’s Experimental Endgame Make It To Games That Count?]( [2022 NBA All-Star Game]( Damian Lillard collects a long offensive rebound beyond the 3-point line, shuffle-steps to his left and drains one of his patented deep triples. It’s another game winner to add to his extensive collection. [Read more]( [3. Why An Abortion Drug Approved 20 Years Ago Might Get Yanked From The Market]( [Boxes of the drug mifepristone sit on a shelf]( Approving an abortion drug is always going to come with a high level of scrutiny and pushback. Dr. Michael Greene knew this well back in 2000 when he was leading the Food and Drug Administration committee that first approved the abortion drug mifepristone for sale in the U.S. [Read more]( [4. Why We’re Preemptively Banning A Pollster — And Not Banning Another]( [POLLSTER-BANS-2023-4×3]( FiveThirtyEight is in the business of grading and reporting on polls — so when a pollster allegedly engages in misconduct, we take it seriously. In November 2022, an anonymous interviewee in The Tartan, Carnegie Mellon University’s student-run newspaper, alleged that Sean McElwee, the then-executive director of polling firm Data For Progress, was betting on elections. We immediately began our own investigation, led by reporter Kaleigh Rogers; today, we published the results of that investigation — the full story of McElwee and Data For Progress as best we could determine. [Read more]( [5. How The Cool Kid Of Progressive Politics Gambled It All Away]( [DATA-FOR-PROGRESS-4×3]( For a certain segment of the chronically online left, it was the equivalent of a blood bath. Just a few days before Christmas, the Slack channels started to disappear. Then, one by one, users were booted off of the Slack entirely. Like at many modern offices, workers at Data For Progress — a left-leaning polling firm and think tank — used Slack’s chat software for internal communication. But the Data For Progress Slack was notorious in progressive circles for having multiple public channels that included expansive membership outside of the company. And now the channels were being shuttered and non-employees were being evicted. [Read more]( [6. The Chiefs Didn’t Need Analytics To Win Another Championship]( [Super Bowl LVII – Kansas City Chiefs v Philadelphia Eagles]( Super Bowl LVII proved once again that the Kansas City Chiefs don’t need analytics. They win the old-fashioned way — with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid creating massive advantages that render ill-advised game management and roster decisions meaningless. [Read more]( [7. How Did TikTok Bans Go Viral In State Legislatures?]( [TIKTOK-BANS_4x3]( Americans love TikTok. Politicians, not so much. [Read more]( [8. Which Republicans Could Vote For A Debt Ceiling Increase?]( [Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski]( Nothing is certain in this life, but the United States will definitely need to raise its debt ceiling later this year to avoid a potentially calamitous debt default. On one side, President Biden and Democrats want a “clean” debt limit increase, while Republicans want future decreases in spending included in any deal. [Read more]( [9. How MLB’s New Rules Could Change Baseball In 2023]( [A blurry Boston Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen throws in front of a pitch clock]( Big baseball rule changes are coming this season, starting with Friday’s spring training openers. Among MLB’s many on-field adjustments: a pitch clock that limits pitchers to 15 seconds (or 20 with men on base) between when they get the ball from the catcher and the start of their delivery; the end of the infield shift — infielders must have both feet touching the dirt at the start of a pitch, with two fielders on each side of second base; and larger bases, increased from 15 to 18 inches on each side. [Read more]( [10. Why One Floundering Company Might Change The Economics Of Baseball Forever]( [Jo Adell]( Generally speaking, buying a Major League Baseball team is one of the best investments you can make. Franchise valuations have skyrocketed over the past few decades, even relative to other growing financial assets. But baseball’s fast economic growth has depended heavily on a source of money — local cable TV revenues — that has suddenly been thrown into flux. Just in the past week, Diamond Sports Group (which operates the Bally Sports regional networks that televise 14 teams’ games), missed an interest payment that could be the precursor to a bankruptcy filing — and to MLB having to find an alternative broadcasting solution. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly Listen [Play]( [Politics Podcast: Some Republicans Are Souring On Aid To Ukraine]( [FiveThirtyEight] [View in browser]( [ABC News]( [Unsubscribe]( Our mailing address: FiveThirtyEight, 47 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023.