Send us a text CONTENT WARNING This episode of Unchecked deals with the sensitive topic of gun violence. SYNOPSIS Nick Suplina, Senior VP for Law & Policy at Everytown for Gun Safety joins Rachel and Dan to talk about the long-standing and persistent disinformation campaign by the gun lobby. Nick highlights the main messages and techniques in use, and we explore the challenges of celebrating prevention. Rachel describes the Lens of Despair and Dan digs into the Lens of Status Quo. STO...
Send us a text SYNOPSIS Brandon Schauer from Rare, a conservation nonprofit, talks to Rachel and Dan about ways to modify behavior to help save the planet. Climate change and its solutions are often too big for an individual person to connect with, so Brandon has developed strategies to meet people where they are. These strategies short-circuit climate misinformation altogether. STORIES Banana propaganda Annalee Newitz’s book Stories Are Weapons The 1954 Guatemalan Coup (Wikipedia)NPS, t...
Send us a text SYNOPSIS Dr. Claire Wardle is a disinformation expert and communications professor at Cornell University. She joins Rachel and Dan to talk about the history of disinformation study, how new technology introduces new challenges, and about how the information ecosystem might change in the future. She offers insights into the psychology of disinformation. From the conversation, Rachel elaborates on the lens of Friction, and Dan talks about a lens he can only call “Middle of the ni...
Send us a text SYNOPSIS David Dylan Thomas joins Rachel and Dan to talk about cognitive biases. David explains the fundamental attribution error, the framing effect, and the confirmation bias. All of these contribute to a skewed perception in which a person’s misconceptions about the world can be reinforced or exploited. The conversation leads Rachel to suggest the lens of manipulation and Dan the lens of belonging. + + + STORIES OF DISINFORMATION Mary Toft Dan quotes from Mary Toft; or the R...
Send us a text SYNOPSIS Dana Chisnell joins Dan and Rachel to talk about information in civic tech. Dana discusses her experience with voting systems, immigration, and homeland security. New executive orders on communicating about people directly affected Dana’s job. She explains her rationale for stepping down from her executive position. Rachel coins the lens “#influencers” and Dan describes the lens “Messaging.” STORIES OF DISINFORMATION The AIDS crisis Dan’s son was in a musical called Fa...
Send us a text SYNOPSIS Rachel and Dan talk to Dr. Adam Ratner, author of the new book Booster Shots, about the misinformation he encounters as a pediatric infectious disease specialist. We discuss the distinctions between vaccine hesitancy and being anti-vax, and how misinformation has an impact beyond individual healthcare. Dan uses the discussion to highlight a new “lens” called double-tagging, and Rachel is inspired to establish the lens “frenzy.” __________ STORIES OF DISINFORMATION The ...
Send us a text SYNOPSIS Dan and Rachel talk with Cyd Harrell about the challenges of providing information to citizens that is accurate and accessible, even when it needs to be official and formal. Rachel discusses the Accuracy as a lens for evaluating information ecosystems. Dan explains the lens Accountability. EPISODE CONTENTS Stories of Disinformation Dan describes misinformation from the Bush administration that provided the impetus for the US invasion of Iraq The Iraq Invasion 20 Year...
Send us a text Stories of Disinformation Rachel told the story of disinformation in ancient Rome: Octavian’s campaign against Mark Antony. The Propaganda of OctavianFake news about Antony and CleopatraBBC: A brief history of fake newsA short guide to the history of fake news and disinformationDan recounted the story of how the Department of Homeland Security is manipulating search engine results… Or are they? The Guardian: A mirage of mass deportationsGizmodo: A little bit of HTML doing a lot...
Send us a text Introducing Unchecked, the podcast about the architecture of disinformation. Exaggerations, misinformation, and falsehoods seem to be everywhere these days. No domain, no online space, no information ecosystem is safe from this invasive species. Dan and Rachel, two professional information architects, turn their attention to this growing threat in the hopes of developing strategies and methods for building better systems. ____________________________________________ Topics: Sno...