154: The Truth Wars (w/Renée DiResta)

In the post-truth world, journalists who report facts are disparaged as perpetuating the narrative while candidates who hold the appropriate qualifications are smeared as deep state operatives. Likewise, a career spent studying terrorism, online conspiracy theories, and digital propaganda becomes "evidence" of opposing free speech and the American way. Our guest today became the "main character" on Twitter in April, subject to information requests from Congress and labeled the "leader of the Censorship Industrial Complex" from her perch at the center of a conspiracy web in which Big Tech, government intelligence agencies, and woke university think tanks secretly silenced free speech online. Her name is Renée DiResta, and Julian talks to her about her extensive study of online propaganda. She tells us about the unfolding digital information crisis, of which the Twitter Files is just be the most recent example. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices