After thorough deliberation, the NULJ is pleased to announce the winners of its 2026 High School Essay Contest. Thank you to all applicants for their enthusiasm and hard work!

About the Topic: 

As the 2026 midterm general election approaches in an increasingly digital age, misinformation poses growing risks to our society – particularly as emerging forms of political advertising harness advances in artificial intelligence and social media. For this year's competition, the NULJ invites contestants to consider whether deliberate misinformation should be protected under the First Amendment. We encourage all submissions to draw on relevant case law, legal scholarship, contemporary cultural examples, and other scholarly sources to support their analysis.

Winners:

First Place: Misty Lin, "Protection of Deliberate Misinformation"

Second Place: Vivianna Ding, "Beyond Censorship: Why Regulation Fails and Media Literacy Prevails"

Third Place: Tanvir Virdi, "The Indeterminacy of Political Truth: Why Deliberate Misinformation Retains First Amendment Protection and Why Civic Education Is the Appropriate Democratic Response”