Disinformation

"These things are as endemic to Russia as vodka, the ballet, and long winters." In this episode, host Paul Brandus discusses the pervasive issue of disinformation, particularly focusing on Russian efforts and the impact on global security. He interviews Nina Jankowicz, founder of the American Sunlight Project, who emphasizes the importance of building societal resilience and promoting information...

"Journalism is the only profession that is protected by the First Amendment... but private equity and hedge funds have been involved with disastrous consequences." In this episode, host Paul Brandus delves into the issue of the decline of local print journalism and news deserts, focusing on the impact of hedge funds and private equity firms acquiring newspapers. Guest Margot Susca, an assistant pr...

"You have a direct pipeline, particularly with social media and with individuals. Essentially, all you're doing is figuring out who you want to target" In this podcast episode, host Paul Brandus discusses the growing concerns surrounding the upcoming presidential election, focusing on the threats posed by disinformation, false narratives, and foreign interference. He interviews Marek Posard, a mil...

"Open-source intelligence is a critical way of helping not just governments, but the private sector form judgments about critical issues." This episode is the second in a series covering Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). Here, we focus on Bellingcat's investigative work into the 2014 shooting down of a passenger jet in Eastern Ukraine, the interest of the U.S. Department of Defense in OSINT, and t...

"The silence in these fields is that of a tomb, like sorrow and loss have isolated it from the war around it." In this episode, host Paul Brandus delves into the world of open source intelligence (OSINT), He discusses its importance in verifying information, especially in the digital era. The episode explores various tools within OSINT, such as social media, geospatial intelligence, and blockchain...

"The United States government works at a great disadvantage because we tell the truth." In this episode, we refocus our sights on Russia's information warfare efforts in Africa, particularly spreading false claims about U.S. biological testing surrounding COVID-19. The Africa Initiative, backed by Russian intelligence, is highlighted as the source of these conspiracy theories. Despite limited trac...

"It's a kind of information that we find particularly appealing that people looking to fool us will use, but it can lead to innocent spreading" Host Paul Brandus explores the concept of truth bias and its implications in today's society with guests Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris, authors of the book "Nobody's Fool, Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It." They discuss how our innat...

"This information is polluting the entire ecosystem under which we operate." In this episode of "Disinformation," Paul Brandus delves into the pressing issue of information pollution in the 21st century. With the rise of social media and artificial intelligence, discerning between truth, misinformation, and deliberate falsehoods has become increasingly challenging. We also discuss how information...

"The problem in America isn't so much what people don't know, the problem is what people think they know that just ain't so" In this episode of Disinformation, Paul Brandus discusses the prevalence of false campaign narratives and disinformation in elections around the world. He highlights the upcoming presidential election in the United States and the numerous elections taking place in other coun...

"The most common threat that the dark web poses for a disinformation point of view, however, is ...the fact that many marketplaces on the dark web host tools which can be used for disinformation. Manufacturing it, spreading it, monitoring it, so on and so forth." On this episode, host Paul Brandus explores the hidden parts of the Internet known as the deep web and the dark web. The deep web refers...

"This is an ongoing struggle, and perhaps the struggle of our time." In this episode of Disinformation, Paul Brandus discusses the recent election in the Netherlands and the rise of the islamophobic and anti-immigration Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party. The Russians, known for their active measures, have been supporting Wilders, further highlighting their efforts to influence opinion in the Wes...

As we celebrate our holiday break here on Disinformation, we wanted to re-share our episode from season 1 titled "A House Divided - Political Division & Disinformation's Role" - on this episode, we discuss the growing political divide in the U.S. and how disinformation fuels the partisan fire. Americans see each other in increasingly tribalistic terms — one side or the other seems, at times, a tin...

"I can filter out four or five star quality hotels and restaurants today. We can't do that with our personal information." In this episode of the award-winning podcast series "Disinformation," host Paul Brandus discusses the need for safety standards in the information we consume. While there are regulations in place for the safety of our food, water, and air, there are none for the content we see...

"The federal government is stepping up its efforts to counter foreign disinformation." In this episode, we explore the lesser-known agencies within the United States Intelligence Community. With the rise of false information and disinformation as a major threat, the federal government is increasing its efforts to counter foreign disinformation. The Director of National Intelligence discusses the e...

"... truth is the first casualty of war." In all times, but especially in wartime, we are challenged to separate fact from fiction. On this special episode of Disinformation, we break from our miniseries on combating disinformation to discuss the recent surprise attack on Israel by Hamas, the evolving nature of information dissemination, and the importance of verifying sources in a fast-moving con...

"Living in a post-fact world is a scary place to be, as we learned during the pandemic, right? People don't believe anything." In part 1 of this 3 part series on combating disinformation, we delve into the world of media literacy, critical thinking, and the battle against disinformation in Europe. Join host Paul Brandus as he explores the challenges faced by countries like Slovakia and Bulgaria, w...

"... this is a Doom Loop: authorities screw up, people die, trust is eroded." In this podcast episode, host Paul Brandus discusses the dangerous spread of false narratives during natural disasters and crises. He highlights the devastating impact of Hurricane Adelia on Cedar Key, Florida, and the disinformation that followed, causing confusion and undermining trust in authorities. He also discusses...

"What kind of company, a publicly traded company, doesn't share its most basic financial information with investors? In this episode of Disinformation, host Paul Brandus delves into the infamous case of Enron, a Houston-based energy company that was once a Wall Street darling. Enron manipulated its financial information, misrepresenting its earnings and altering its balance sheet to deceive invest...

"It creates this sort of feedback loop of Disinformation that's happening all the time there." On this episode of Disinformation, hosts Paul Brandus and Meredith Wilson delve into the concerning rise of disinformation in India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The episode highlights the protests outside the White House during Modi's visit, where opponents accused him of undermi...

"What is the line where your ability to say what you want stops and your ability to make up things that harm people starts?" In Elon Musk's recent interview with the BBC, he discussed free speech and his vision for the platform to serve as a "digital town square." However, the challenge arises when determining what constitutes misinformation in a divided society where basic facts are contested. Th...

In this episode of "Disinformation," host Paul Brandus and analyst Meredith Wilson explore the overwhelming amount of information that bombards us each day. Dr. Daniel Levitin, a cognitive psychologist and author, explains that we are faced with five times more information than ever before, making it difficult to discern what is true and what is not. The rise of social media and tribalism further...

In this episode of "Disinformation," Paul Brandus explores the extent of Russian influence operations and disinformation efforts beyond just elections and social issues. He discusses the role of the Internet Research Agency, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, in spreading false narratives. Meredith Wilson, CEO of Emergent Risk International, provides analysis on how the private sector and business communit...

In season two of the Disinformation podcast, Paul Brandus discusses the emergence of avatars and false media outlets created by artificial intelligence, blurring the lines between fact and fiction; truth and untruth. He and Meredith Wilson, CEO of Emergent Risk International, discuss how the rapid growth of AI accelerates the possibility of false narratives spreading faster than ever before, and h...

Today, we're taking time to recap some of our past reporting. Please enjoy this retrospective from our Season 1 episode "News Deserts". Season 2 coming soon!

A look back at some material from our first season – highlighting the growing dangers of disinformation, but also some ideas on how, perhaps, it can be thwarted. Appearing: Meredith Wilson, chief executive officer of Emergent Risk International, and Brady Roberts, ERI’s chief operating officer. Season 2 coming soon!