TTGB_S3_Ep06_InnerDecay_Part1.mp3

S3 E6 (The Wrong Apocalypse) - Inner Decay

Disinformation and misinformation have been blurring the line between fantasy and reality since the start of communication itself. But over the last decade, they’ve posed an increasing threat to democracy in the United States, with the 2016 presidential election becoming a major flashpoint in Americans’ understanding of the consequences of fake news. The false information flooding the internet and spreading like wildfire on social media pose risks not just to national and election security, but even to our health and safety.

With its bots, troll farms, and vested interest in certain election outcomes, Russia has become America’s public disinformation enemy. But experts say that the power of foreign actors to sow discord rests, first and foremost, right here at home, and the solution may be different than you think.

GUESTS: <a href="https://www.rand.org/about/people/m/mazarr_michael_j.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mike Mazarr</a>, Senior Political Scientist at RAND Corporation; <a href="https://cindyotis.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cindy Otis</a>, Author, Former CIA Analyst, and disinformation investigations manager; <a href="https://www.camillestewart.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Camille Stewart</a>, Head of Security Policy for Google Play and Android; <a href="https://faculty.sfsu.edu/%7Erjeung/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Russell Jeung</a>, Professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University

ADDITIONAL READING:

<a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250239495" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">True or False: A CIA Analyst's Guide to Spotting Fake News</a>, Cindy Otis.

<a href="https://nieman.harvard.edu/articles/vote-and-die-covering-voter-suppression-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vote and Die: Covering Voter Suppression during the Coronavirus Pandemic</a>, Nieman Foundation.

<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2019/07/31/combating-disinformation-and-foreign-interference-in-democracies-lessons-from-europe/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Combating Disinformation and Foreign Interference in Democracies: Lessons From Europe</a>, Margaret L. Taylor.

Things That Go Boom

The scenic town of Veles, Macedonia, is home to at least 100 false US news sites.

Media

Kids in Macedonia made up and circulated many false news stories in the US election

UNC professor Zeynep Tufekci says Facebook is offering the news equivalent of Halloween candy. 

How to stop Facebook when its newsfeed 'serves Halloween candy for breakfast, lunch and dinner' 

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg

Culture

What's the role of social media in the news media?

Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum was the focus of a Russian smear campaign.

Global Politics

What it's like to be the victim of a Russian online smear campaign

Can we develop immunity against fake news?

An armed man walks on a path near the village of Nialdhiu, South Sudan

Conflict

Online fake news and hate speech are fueling tribal 'genocide' in South Sudan

Peace messages by graffiti artist Solo7 adorn Nairobi's Kibera slum in the run-up to the election on August 8. 

Kenyans worry 'fake news' might spark more election violence

A Rohingya refugee man helps children cross the mud after crossing the Naf River at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. 

In Myanmar, fake news spread on Facebook stokes ethnic violence

A man watches a video on his mobile phone as he commutes by a suburban train in Mumbai.

Technology

WhatsApp tipline to fight fake news ‘too little, too late,’ Indian police chief says

Icons for Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest are displayed on a window, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Science & Technology

How social media has changed society

Father Damion, abbot at St. Joseph's Trappist Abbey, left, and Spencer Brewery director Father Isaac walk through their new, state-of-the-art facility in Spencer, Massachusetts, Jan. 9, 2014.

Lifestyle & Belief

Trappist monks keep beer tradition alive despite decline in interest for monastic life

A bronze standing Shiva statue is unpacked at the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh after being returned to the kingdom in March 2023.

Arts, Culture & Media

 Looted relics returned to Cambodia receive monks’ blessings

Young Africans seek to leverage Vice President Harris’ trip to Africa 

50 years ago, Nixon announced the withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam

A student shows a piece of ceramic in the archaeological excavation near Salbitz, central Germany, on Friday, April 8, 2011.

States at dawn: Part I

The Kyiv Pesherska Lavra, the Monastery of the Caves, in Kyiv, Ukraine, ornate cathedral, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it’s the heart of Ukrainian Orthodoxy.

Ukraine

Divisions among Orthodox church communities widen amid war in Ukraine

Music

The astonishing life and music of Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, the Ethiopian nun who has died at 99

Raising the street protest to art form: synchronized megaphone barkers sang and chanted in unison to fire up the crowds.

Protest

In France, students prove an unlikely ally in protests against pension reform

Montreal Canadiens superfans brace for historic record to be smashed

The sword of the Royal House of Avis on a stylized cross decorates the 56-meter high Monument to the Discoveries by the Tagus river in Lisbon, Thursday, March 30, 2023. 

Justice

Vatican rejects Doctrine of Discovery after years of pressure from Indigenous activists

fake news

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