Posting Through It

This episode was made in collaboration with Did Nothing Wrong , a podcast hosted by Jay McKenzie and Griff Sombke, and features a chat with mis/disinfo researcher and author Mike Rothschild . We talk about Jim Stewartson, a self-proclaimed 'anti-disinformation activist' who has some conspiracy theories about, well, conspiracy theories. Then, we talk to Mike about the prevalence of conspi...

Christopher Mathias joins the show to talk about his experience at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference, a.k.a. CPAC. Jared and Chris talk about the event's lacking attendance, surrounding scandals, and attacks on trans people. Then, Chris tells us about the latest "Terrorgram" propagandist to have had their identity revealed. Chris' Twitter: @letsgomathias Chris&a...

Ed Zitron joined the show to talk about Microsoft and Google's planned rollouts of AI chatbots into their search engines and the risks of applying the technology across people's lives recklessly. Ed's Twitter: @EdZitron Ed's Newsletter: https://ez.substack.com/p/degenerative-ai Ed's favorite thing online: https://twitter.com/male_wife_/status/1626825132894199811 Support th...

Michael E. Hayden joins the show to talk about text messages the Southern Poverty Law Center obtained from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The messages reveal a conflict between the on-air persona that Jones embodies and the real Jones that lives in "hell." Mike’s favorite thing online: @goth_videos It's Gonna Be a Long Night newsletter Links: NYT: DeSantis/Trump poll Vanity Fair :...

Amanda Moore joins the show to talk about Steven Crowder's contract drama, her latest article for Talking Points Memo about Nick Fuentes and Ye, the conservative gas stove freak-out, and more. Amanda has spent extended time undercover in far-right MAGA communities and uses her first-hand observations from that time to inform her reporting and commentary. Follow Amanda on Twitter: @noturtlesou...

Jared opened up the Posting Through It voicemail and text message inbox for listener questions and comments. In this episode, he reacts to those messages. Support the show Subscribe to the Posting Through It newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com

Meghan Conroy and Alex Newhouse worked for the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol as investigator and investigative analyst, respectively. They join Posting Through It on the second anniversary of the Capitol riot to talk about the work they did in the Congressional investigation, particularly related to the roles social media platforms had in the a...

Dr. Anthea Butler is a historian of African American and American religion who serves as the Chair of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She joins the show to discuss the influence of Christian nationalism in American politics and how it expresses itself online. Host Jared Holt and Dr. Butler discuss the uprising of the movement, its impacts on modern politics, and the white supr...

Kyle Spencer is an award-winning journalist and the author of "Raising Them Right: The Untold Story of America's Ultraconservative Youth Movement." Kyle explains how political activists like Charlie Kirk have risen to power in a new era of internet-forward youth outreach by the conservative movement, bringing with them increasingly radical messages. Follow Kyle Spencer on Twitter: @...

Max Rizzuto and Alyssa Kann are researchers at the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) who Jared used to work with. They join the show to talk about the anti-climactic passing of midterm elections. Is election denialism still as potent as it was in 2020? Were fears overblown? Have threats to democracy receded? They argue no to all of the above, even if things went better than expected. If every...

Adam Kovacevich is the founder and CEO of the tech-funded trade group Chamber of Progress, which encourages lawmakers to take pro-tech positions in their policymaking. He joins the show to offer a hopeful view for the future of Twitter under Elon Musk at a time where many others have forecasted the platform's demise. Follow Adam Kovacevich on Twitter: @adamkovac Chamber of Progress website: p...

Will Sommer is a reporter at The Daily Beast and the author of an upcoming book on the Qanon conspiracy theory. He also co-hosts the Fever Dreams podcast. Sommer joins the show to run down a few notable stories from right-wing internet land, including Kanye West's announced plan to buy Parler, an alt-right movie evaporating a million bucks, and more. Follow Will Sommer on Twitter: @willsommer...

Mike Rothschild is the author of a great book on the QAnon conspiracy theory and its cultural significance. He joins the show to discuss former President Donald Trump's promotion of content from the conspiracy theory's followers on Truth Social, what the movement has been up to in the last year or two, and what its believers have planned for midterm elections. Follow Mike Rothschild on T...

Molly White is the software engineer, Wikipedia editor, and independent researcher behind Web3 Is Going Just Great , a project that chronicles the not-so-fabulous drumbeat of disasters related to cryptocurrency and other web3 products. She joins the show to explain "web3" technologies and squash the hype around them. Molly and Jared talk about the political implications of web3 tech, and...

Robert Silverman is a reporter who has published some of the most definitive reporting on pro-Trump social media personality Tim Pool to date. As much as Tim Pool may sell his offerings as better alternatives to mainstream media, Robert Silverman explains how writers at his news blog have relied almost entirely on work done by mainstream news services. Some writers, he found, have even engaged in...

Trapezoid of Discovery is the pseudonym used by an information security engineer who has cataloged and refuted claims from election deniers as they’ve toured around the country, drawing crowds and inspiring conspiracy-minded activism. We discuss what these traveling events have been like, why people should pay attention to what’s happening around them, and how they relate to the broader Republican...

Emmi Conley is an extremism researcher who joins the show to talk about the far-right’s reaction to the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago, the revelation that the cringe @BasedMikeLee Twitter account does in fact belong to Sen. Mike Lee, Democrats’ encounters with “Dark Brandon” memes and more. Follow Emmi: @GamerGirlRights Read the newsletter: postingthroughit.com Support the show Subscribe to the Posting...

Kristen Doerer is the managing editor of Right Wing Watch, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to cataloguing the goings-on of the American far-right. (Jared used to work there, and Kristen was his boss!) Kristen joins the show this week to discuss recent January 6th Committee hearings that broached far-right extremists’ and the online communities’ roles in the Capitol riot. In the first half, Jared an...

Nick Backovic and Ernie Piper are writers at Logically who produce investigative journalism related to online disinformation and conspiracy theories. They join the podcast this week to discuss an investigation they published about a QAnon cryptocurrency scheme that scammed believers out of gobs of cash, including one who died by suicide after losing more than $100,000 in the racket. Jared and the...

Ali Breland is a reporter at Mother Jones who covers online disinformation. He joins the podcast this week to talk about two of his recent essays that confront the flaws and shortcomings of conversations around disinformation, extremism, violence and other harms. Ali discusses why terms like “echo chamber” don’t adequately capture the dynamic social media platforms play in shaping political ideolo...

India McKinney is the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s director of federal affairs. She joins the podcast this week to talk about privacy and data protection at a time when many anticipate the Supreme Court will roll back reproductive healthcare rights. In this episode, India and Jared talk about concerns that online data could be used by those wanting to punish people seeking abortions. Then, the...

Michael E. Hayden is a senior investigative reporter at the Southern Poverty Law Center and good friend of the podcast. Mike joins SH!TPOST this week to chat about all the stories the show missed while it was on break. In this episode, Mike and Jared discuss Elon Musk bidding for Twitter, the far-right laundering fascist aesthetics via “Ultra MAGA”, a right-wing YouTube star who was caught on tape...

Kelly Weill is a reporter at The Daily Beast. She recently published a book on Flat Earth conspiracy theory followers and what their beliefs can tell us about the ways people can arrive at absurdly false beliefs. She joins SH!TPOST to talk about her new book and its lessons for the rest of us. Follow Kelly on Twitter: @KELLYWEILL Get the book: “ Off the Edge: Flat Earthers, Conspiracy Culture, and...

Sebastian Murdock is a senior reporter at HuffPost who has been covering lawsuits filed against notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his media outlet Infowars. Jared and Sebastian recount some of the latest updates in those lawsuits and what we can gather from how things are progressing. (Spoiler: Not well for Alex!) Follow Sebastian on Twitter: @SebastianMurdoc Read some of Sebastian’s re...

Justin Ling is a freelance investigative reporter covering misinformation, conspiracy theories, extremism, and national security. He joins SH!TPOST to talk about the recent rise of Russian “bio lab” disinformation among MAGA movement figures. Ling walks listeners through the origins of these claims, why they gained overnight popularity with pro-Trump opinion makers in the US, and how governments h...