Unchecked: The architecture of disinformation

Send us Fan Mail CONTENT WARNING Descriptions of incarceration, the treatment of detainees SYNOPSIS Human rights lawyer and immigration attorney Qasim Rashid joins Rachel and Dan to dismantle the myth of a clear, consistent "legal way" to immigrate. The conversation moves between misinformation about the immigration system itself and misinformation about immigrants as people, ultimately...

Send us Fan Mail SYNOPSIS Dan and Rachel kick off Season 2 of Unchecked by looking back at what season one taught them and what's ahead. We reflect on the toll of researching disinformation. They also preview season two's research directions, including Rachel's interest in the everyday myths people unconsciously rely on and Dan's theory that there's a "big lie" a...

Send us Fan Mail Synopsis Dr. Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, joins Rachel and Dan to pull back the curtain on how economic data is collected, revised, and communicated — and how that process is vulnerable to political manipulation. We talk about the federal statistical agencies that produce employment and wage data, the role of transparency and revision in maintain...

Send us Fan Mail CONTENT WARNING This episode of Unchecked deals with the sensitive topic of gun violence. SYNOPSIS JJ Janflone, who works on culture change and narrative strategy at Brady: United Against Gun Violence, joins Rachel and Dan to unpack the Big Lie at the center of gun violence disinformation. JJ explains how that single falsehood generates cascading misbeliefs — about storage, risk,...

Send us Fan Mail Synopsis Karen McGrane joins Rachel and Dan to explain Reddit from the perspective of a moderator. Reddit is the largest message board on the internet, with thousands of “sub-Reddits” – individual communities based on a topic. Karen moderates the community dedicated to UX Design, which gets hundreds of new posts every week. Rachel and Dan then explore two Lenses: Swarm and Curatio...

Send us Fan Mail SYNOPSIS Speaking to Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, Rachel and Dan dig into misinformation about abortion – who gets them, why they get them, and how they get them. You may be surprised by some of the answers. Dr. Upadhyay describes her research around abortion safety and abortion via telehealth. Rachel proposes the lens “Retraction” and Dan leans on an old favorite, “Personas”. STORIES OF D...

Send us Fan Mail Synopsis For the 10th episode of Unchecked, Rachel and Dan talk to Dr. Amelia B. Finaret, food economist and clinical dietitian about the state of nutrition misinformation. With the release of the latest dietary guidelines – some of which are not founded on sound nutrition science – we take a look at both the classic and newer myths around food. Dan uses the discussion to arrive a...

Send us Fan Mail SYNOPSIS Zanagee Artis, a climate advocate and educator with Natural Resources Defense Council, joins Rachel and Dan to talk about disinformation in arctic and coastal drilling. Zanagee describes the challenges of addressing disinformation when the time horizons of climate research spans decades. Inspired by this discussion, Rachel coins the lens of Time Feel. Dan, impressed by ef...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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 p...

Send us Fan Mail 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, Rache...

Send us Fan Mail 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 t...

Send us Fan Mail 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 t...

Send us Fan Mail 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-tagg...

Send us Fan Mail 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 Bu...

Send us Fan Mail Stories of Disinformation Rachel told the story of disinformation in ancient Rome: Octavian’s campaign against Mark Antony. The Propaganda of Octavian Fake news about Antony and Cleopatra BBC: A brief history of fake news A short guide to the history of fake news and disinformation Dan recounted the story of how the Department of Homeland Security is manipulating search engine res...

Send us Fan Mail 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 strategie...