What better way to kick off release day than a shoutout in CNN’s Reliable Sources newsletter? Francesca Tripodi has had quite a week!
Not only did The Propagandists’ Playbook release this Tuesday, August 16, but she also published an article in Wired explaining how Google Search is quietly damaging democracy.
In an effort to ‘do their own research,’ people tend to search for something they saw on Facebook or other social media platforms, but because of the way content has been tagged and categorized, they are actually falling into an information trap.
In a Twitter thread, Francesca explains how this leads to what she refers to in her book as the “IKEA effect of misinformation” and how people are participating in a scavenger hunt created by those who spread lies.
To further elaborate on the research process and findings of her book, Francesca spoke to both the Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure’s podcast, Reimaging the Internet, and Tech Policy Press’s The Sunday Show. Both talks provide a crash course on the conservative disinformation ecosystem, and we recommend you give them a listen.
Francesca also kicked off her book talk series at Chapel Hill’s Flyleaf Books and may be coming to a city near you this fall!
Publications and appearances
“The people making the rules did not talk straight with the American people about what college debt would actually cost, how it would work, and what it would mean for economic mobility.” Tressie McMillan Cottom is quoted in a Washington Post analysis on how the student loan payment pause affected Latinx millennials.
“The mis- and disinformation quality is not inherent to the content itself, but is rather a relationship between the person spreading it and the content itself.” Deen Freelon joined Guy Golan for a conversation on Twitter vs. Democracy.
“Video and images are much more powerful in terms of persuading people or making them have emotional reactions. It’s something that we need to be paying a lot more attention to.” Shannon McGregor spoke to Time magazine about the midterm elections and the role video content may play in the spread of misinformation this year.
Affiliate Brian Creech has a new publication out with Jessica Maddox about how elite journalism naturalizes tech power by focusing on CEOs’ personal traits.
Coming soon
September 13, 5:30pm ET: Can We Talk?: Student Thoughts on Free Expression at UNC
September 13, 3:30-4:30pm CDT: University of Wisconsin Event: Campaign Finance & Election Misinformation. Daniel Kreiss is one of the panelists!
Rest of Web
😎 Alice Marwick’s work has officially been memed.
📝 Pranav Malhotra is looking for dissertation interviewees. Spread the word!