A Lot of Good People Told Me

Disinformation and Propaganda 101. On this episode we get critical historical and background information on this subject through discussion with Bryan Jones –  a technology entrepreneur, executive and adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law. He currently teaches a course called Propaganda, Deception & Manipulation in the Technology Era where he traces the evolution of information warfare, from the 1700s to current day. Central to a lot of Bryan’s work is the intersection of democracy and technology. In our conversation we touch on the differences between propaganda and disinformation campaigns, plus the psychology behind how they work and how they became central to modern day political discussions.  Bryan also talks about social media and algorithmic optimization to facilitate and accelerate the reach and impact.

“A Lot of Good People Told Me” is a podcast exploring the effects of disinformation on the American public. This first season is the culmination of Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs graduate Alex Rose’s Brumley NextGEN fellowship through the Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin. This policy project explores issues at the intersection of cyber security, journalism and world affairs. On the podcast, Rose interviews experts like Bobby Chesney, Renée DiResta, Christopher Krebs and more to uncover how disinformation and propaganda is disseminated through technology and how it has come to shape our lives. On one episode she speaks with Dr. Scott Debb, a cyber psychologist who illuminates concepts like doomscrolling, confirmation bias and group think. She looks at the decline in trust in public institutions and how disinformation may be responsible. While looking at the security implications, she is also searching for viable policy solutions we can take out into the world to combat the detrimental effects of disinformation while protecting our right to freedom of speech, protected under the first amendment.

The music featured on the podcast is composed by Alex Dupree, who also edited every episode and served as a crucial production partner.

For more information please visit www.alexrosebb.com or www.strausscenter.org. You can also follow us on instagram @alotofgoodpeopletoldme. Thank you so much to the Strauss Center for helping to bring this project to life. And thank you for listening and engaging with this topic.