Truth, Trust and Democracy is a new podcast series that examines polarization in politics and the media, the spread of misinformation and disinformation via social media and the impact of generative AI in elections. It also examines the role of the media and the importance of digital literacy and civics.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Host Michelle interviews Adam Price, Sam Fowles, and Jennifer Nadel about Wales' proposal to hold politicians accountable for lying, offering insight into combating autocracy.
7 Mar 2025
Ep 7 - Media and Digital Literacy
In this final episode Michelle Ainsworth explores why everyone needs strong media and digital literacy skills to help navigate our increasingly messy information ecosystem. She’ll also touch on the importance of civic engagement in a democracy.
She’ll talk to experts in media and digital literacy, civics, former US government advisors and leading academics in disinformation.
This episode includes interviews with:
Leo Pekkala, Deputy Director KAVI, Finland’s National Audio-Visual Institute
Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, former Executive Director of the National Association for Media Literacy Education
Michael Daniel, President Cyber Threat Alliance
Associate Professor Michelle Amazeen, Mass Communication, Boston University
Sam Stockwell, Alan Turing Institute’s Centre for Emerging Technology and Security
Professor Amy E. Lehrman, Director of the Possibility Lab, UC Berkeley
Abby Kiesa, outgoing deputy director, Centre for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE)
Professor Jon Roozenbeek, Social Decision-Making Lab, Cambridge University
Publications cited:
Adult Media Literacy - Australian Media Literacy Alliance (https://medialiteracy.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/AML2024_report_final-compressed.pdf)
Circle at Tufts University (https://circle.tufts.edu/circlegrowingvoters)
NAMLE (National Association for Media Literacy Education) (https://namle.org/)
Sir Winston Churchill democracy speech - UK Hansard 11 Nov 1947 (https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1947/nov/11/parliament-bill)
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7 Mar 2025
Ep 6 - Fact Checking, Prebunking and Debunking
Michelle Ainsworth explores the tools that are being used to tackle misinformation and disinformation, while at the same time keeping a healthy information ecosystem that produces accurate, trustworthy and reliable information, while still exposing people to a variety of ideas.
She’ll talk to leading academics who work on pre-bunking initiatives, senior journalists and news executives, information integrity experts and disinformation specialists.
This episode includes interviews with:
Marty Baron, former Editor of the Washington Post and author of “Collision of Power”
Professor Rasmus Nielson, Former Director Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
Laura Manley, Executive Director Shorenstein Centre on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard University
Sam Stockwell, Alan Turing Institute’s Centre for Emerging Technology and Security
Dean Jackson, Democracy, Media and Technology Specialist
Nina Jankowicz, founder American Sunlight Project and author of “How to lose the information war”
Professor Jon Roozenbeek, Social Decision-Making Lab, Cambridge University
Professor Sander van der Linden, Department of Psychology, Cambridge University
Tom Rogers, former Australian Electoral Commissioner
Publications cited:
United nations - Information Integrity (https://www.un.org/en/information-integrity)
Bad News Game - Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab (https://www.sdmlab.psychol.cam.ac.uk/research/bad-news-game)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
7 Mar 2025
Ep 5 - Media and Elections
In this episode Michelle Ainsworth looks at why strong public service media organisations and local journalism are vital for keeping democracy in check at a grassroots level. She also explores the challenges facing political journalists who are working in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.
She’ll talk to senior journalists and news executives, former US government advisors, information integrity experts and disinformation specialists.
This episode includes interviews with:
Tina Griego, Colorado News Collaborative
Associate Professor Michelle Amazeen, Mass Communication, Boston University
Dean Jackson, Democracy, Media and Technology Specialist
Nina Jankowicz, founder American Sunlight Project and author of “How to lose the information war”
Kelly McBride, Senior Vice President Poynter Institute and NPR’s Public Editor
Jay Rosen, Journalism Professor, New York University and author of “The Citizens Agenda”
Sam Stockwell, Alan Turing Institute’s Centre for Emerging Technology and Security
Professor Rasmus Nielson, Former Director Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
Professor Amy E. Lehrman, Director of the Possibility Lab, UC Berkeley
Marty Baron, former Editor of the Washington Post and author of “Collision of Power”
Associate Professor Claire Wardle, Department of Communication, Cornell University
Tina Rosenberg, journalist and co-founder Solutions Journalism Network
Publications cited:
Colorado News Collaborative (https://colabnews.co/)
New forms of advertising raise questions about journalism integrity - The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/new-forms-of-advertising-raise-questions-about-journalism-integrity-173205)
The Citizens Agenda (https://www.thecitizensagenda.org/)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
7 Mar 2025
Ep 4 - AI and Elections
Michelle Ainsworth explores how the hype around Generative AI and the 2024 year of elections panned out, and why technology guardrails are urgently needed to protect democracy.
She’ll talk to experts in Generative AI and digital forensics. She also interviews former US government advisors, Australian election experts and disinformation specialists.
This episode includes interviews with:
Tom Rogers, former Australian Electoral Commissioner
Professor Helen Margetts, Oxford Internet Institute
Sam Stockwell, Alan Turing Institute’s Centre for Emerging Technology and Security
Professor Hany Farid, School of Information, UC Berkeley
Dean Jackson, Democracy, Media and Technology Specialist
Michael Daniel, President Cyber Threat Alliance
Nina Jankowicz, founder American Sunlight Project and author of “How to lose the information war”
Publications cited:
UK Election Analysis - AI Election (https://www.electionanalysis.uk/uk-election-analysis-2024/section-6-the-digital-campaign/the-al-election-that-wasnt-yet/)
AI-Enabled Influence Operations: Threat Analysis of the 2024 UK and European Elections - CETaS (https://cetas.turing.ac.uk/publications/ai-enabled-influence-operations-threat-analysis-2024-uk-and-european-elections)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
7 Mar 2025
Ep 3 - Misinformation and Disinformation
Michelle Ainsworth explores how social media has enabled misinformation and disinformation to disrupt democracies around the world.
She’ll talk to digital forensics and disinformation experts, senior journalists, and academics who focus on information integrity.
This episode includes interviews with:
Professor Hany Farid, School of Information, UC Berkeley
Marty Baron, former Editor of the Washington Post and author of “Collision of Power”
Professor Amy E. Lehrman, Director of the Possibility Lab, UC Berkeley
Laura Manley, Executive Director Shorenstein Centre on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard University
Associate Professor Michelle Amazeen, Mass Communication, Boston University
Renee DiResta, researcher into online manipulation and author of “Invisible Rulers”
Nina Jankowicz, founder American Sunlight Project and author of “How to lose the information war”
Associate Professor Kelly Greenhill, Tufts University and author of “Weapons of Mass Migration”
Publications cited:
2024 Digital News Report - Reuters Institute (https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2024/dnr-executive-summary)
United Nations - Information Integrity (https://www.un.org/en/information-integrity)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
7 Mar 2025
Ep 2 - Polarisation
In this episode Michelle Ainsworth explores the impact of rising polarisation in the media and the political landscape, and the impact that’s having on trust in democracy.
She talks to senior journalists, academics who teach journalism and others who are experts in information integrity.
This episode includes interviews with:
Dr Jan Voelkel, “Strengthening Democracy Challenge” Polarization and Change Lab, Standford University
Professor Amy E. Lehrman, Director of the Possibility Lab, UC Berkeley
Agustina Callegari, Global Coalition for Digital Safety, World Economic Forum
Associate Professor Clare Wardle, Department of Communication, Cornell University and co-founder of First Draft
Tina Rosenberg, journalist and co-founder Solutions Journalism Network
Professor Sue Robinson, Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jay Rosen, Journalism Professor, New York University and author of “The Citizens Agenda”
Kelly McBride, Senior Vice President Poynter Institute and NPR’s Public Editor
Laura Manley, Executive Director Shorenstein Centre on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard University
Tom Rogers, former Australian Electoral Commissioner
Publications cited:
Strengthening Democracy Challenge - Stanford University (https://www.strengtheningdemocracychallenge.org/paper)
The Citizens Agenda (https://www.thecitizensagenda.org/)
Solutions Journalism Network (https://www.solutionsjournalism.org/)
Complicating the Narratives Framework - SJN (https://www.solutionsjournalism.org/program/complicating-the-narratives)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
7 Mar 2025
Ep 1 - Democracy in decline
Australia’s democracy is the 6th oldest in the world yet despite having an independent electoral system that’s the envy of the western world, vulnerabilities are beginning to crack.
2024 was dubbed a “super election year”, with more than half the world’s population eligible to vote in elections.
Former political editor Michelle Ainsworth travelled on a Winston Churchill Fellowship to the US, the UK and Finland. She hoped to explore why trust in democracy was declining while audiences are turning away from traditional news sources.
This is the first episode of Truth, Trust and Democracy, a new seven-part series that examines polarisation in politics and the media, the spread of misinformation and disinformation via social media and the impact of generative AI in elections.
Later episodes will look at the role of publicly funded broadcasters and local journalism, fact checking and media literacy.
This episode includes interviews with:
Marty Baron, former Editor of the Washington Post and author of “Collision of Power”
Agustina Callegari, Global Coalition for Digital Safety, World Economic Forum
Tom Rogers, former Australian Electoral Commissioner
Publications cited:
Edelman Trust Barometer 2025 (https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2025-01/2025%20Edelman%20Trust%20Barometer_Final.pdf)
WEF 2025 Global Risks Report (https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/global-risks-report-2025-bleak-predictions/)
Strengthening Australian Democracy - Dept of Home Affairs (https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about-us-subsite/files/strengthening-australian-democracy.pdf)
AEC Democracy Rules website (https://education.aec.gov.au/democracy-rules/)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Inside a recent episode
Ep 8 - Politicians who lie, the Welsh Proposal
Published 25 May 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] What's proposed could see Wales leading the global challenge on restoring trust in politics. The Welsh Parliament is called the Senate and a few months ago its standards committee made a series of recommendations designed to tackle deliberate lying by politicians. […]
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