But as podcasts have soared in popularity, some have become engines of misinformation, experts warn. “The proliferation of a bunch of these podcasts that peddle everything from COVID-19 disinformation to pro-Russian propaganda to just general far-right activism has exploded in recent years,” said Justin Ling, a freelance investigative journalist who covers disinformation. and extremism. Podcasts present a number of difficulties for fact-checkers and moderators, disinformation researchers say, while also providing a low barrier to entry for those hoping to use the format to soar to celebrity. And it’s a problem that’s here to stay, according to Ling.
Disinformation machines?
A recent example of misinformation in a podcast is around the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre where 20 children and six teachers were killed. Story continues below ad As families buried their children, Alex Jones, conspiracy theorist and host of Infowars, told his listeners that the tragedy was a hoax. During the August libel trial stemming from his false claims, it was revealed that Infowars brought in more than $64 million last year, and at one point, Jones was paying himself about $6 million a year. “These people are making and earning millions of dollars for the kind of garbage they’re putting out there,” said Ahmed Al-Rawi, who directs the Disinformation Program at Simon Fraser University. Jones is not the first to profit from misinformation. The first to successfully exploit anger, conspiracy and disinformation for the sake of power and profit were AM radio hosts in the 20th century, according to Ling. In the 1990s, William Cooper took to the airwaves every night. One of his avid listeners was a young man named Timothy McVeigh — the man who eventually carried out the Oklahoma City bombing. Cooper was known for his anti-establishment, pro-militia views and told his listeners to be ready to “fight,” the Guardian reported at the time. Another admirer of Cooper’s, according to many reports, was Jones. In fact, Jones went on air and did an interview with Cooper in 1998, where they discussed topics such as the “New World Order” and America’s need to “wake up” and “take up arms.” Story continues below ad Disinformation investigators say others have found the design Cooper helped build and Jones helped refine. Whether speaking to an audience of hundreds or millions, many podcasters have turned to the platforms to stoke anger and spread false narratives, according to Al-Rawi. “There is less … moderation from the platforms so they feel more empowered, more liberated to say what they want,” Ahmed Al-Rawi said. Other examples include popular podcaster Ben Shapiro, who said that those who are transgender suffer from a “psychological disorder.” Joe Rogan, whose podcast ranks first in Canada on Spotify’s charts — based on recent unique listener and follower numbers — has come under fire more than once for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 on his show. Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist and podcaster, has questioned the validity of climate science, drawing condemnation from scientists. The misinformation podcast model is widespread, Ling said, and risks causing damage. “It has the real potential to continue to destroy the fabric not only of American democracy but of democracy elsewhere,” Ling said. “There’s really no end to how powerful radio can be.” One of the main appeals of podcasting is its low barrier to entry — all you need is a microphone and some basic editing software, Ling said. Story continues below ad The result? Your message can reach the ears of the listener, without guards. “It’s like someone leaning over the bar counter, coming into your cubicle at the office, or sitting across from your kitchen table and explaining something to you,” Ling said. “It doesn’t feel manufactured. It doesn’t feel worn. There doesn’t seem to be any filters between what the host says and what you hear. That’s part of podcasts’ appeal to listeners who feel disenfranchised by mainstream news and media. “There’s been a clamor in recent years for a completely independent, isolated and bubble-wrapped media ecosystem on the right – and they’ve created it,” Ling said. “They’ve built it thanks to a ton of money from some investors and ideologues, but also because there was just a burst of enthusiasm.” While there are left-wing podcasts such as The Young Turks, the radio world has traditionally been dominated by right-wing shows, Ling added. “The right has always been very good at this, and the right is still incredibly good at this,” he said. The multimedia format also creates new solutions for podcasts that might otherwise be removed from major platforms like Facebook. Story continues below ad “There are so many loopholes,” said Carmen Celestini, a University of Waterloo lecturer who worked with Al-Rawi’s Disinformation Project. “You can just go back into the platform so easily and find who you want to find.” Many podcasters and livestreamers will post links to their shows on various social media platforms, Al-Rawi said. But because the real content — and the misinformation — is hosted on another platform, the social media giants will have a hard time mitigating. This means that the content remains active, according to Al-Rawi. “They remain popular on different platforms. And that’s probably what makes it attractive,” he said. Podcasts are also becoming increasingly popular due to changing media consumption habits, according to Ling. “People listen to it when they’re walking their dog, or driving to work, or before they go to bed, or while they’re doing the dishes,” Ling said. “You can take it with you everywhere in a way that wasn’t always extremely possible with radio, and it’s certainly not possible for television.”
What can be done to stop the spread of misinformation?
Disinformation is difficult to regulate, according to Al-Rawi. Story continues below ad “I think it’s impossible — there’s no way to regulate fake news or disinformation,” he said. Instead, people need to develop their own critical thinking skills when it comes to the media they consume. In a peer-reviewed article Al-Rawi analyzed a sample of the top 400 articles from Global Research and Rebel News outlets shared on Twitter and Facebook. “Findings show that 71 percent of the top stories examined contained either false, misleading and/or questionable information, with Global Research being more active in spreading ‘fake news’ than Rebel News,” according to the study. Another step you can take when you spot misinformation online is to report it on the social media platform you see it on, according to Celestini. “There is a lot of misinformation that could harm people. So it behooves us to really engage in this reporting process,” he said. This practice can help close the loopholes that allow misinformation to spread online — even if it’s banned on a particular social media platform, Celestini explained. Listeners also need to make sure they don’t underestimate the problem. “We’ve spent far too long ignoring Alex Jones. We treated him as a freak, a horror show, as opposed to what he actually was, which was more and more the voice for a ton of people who feel like they no longer see themselves in society,” Ling said. Story continues below ad Dealing with these podcasters and live streams can be “difficult” and “thorny,” he added, “but it has to be done.” “Challenge their ideas as necessary and call them, in some cases, for what they are – which in many cases are these charlatans who do it to make money or, in other cases, dangerous ideologues who need to be called out .” At the end of the day, the misinformation genie can’t be put back in the bottle, Ling said, so Canadians must confront it head-on. “It’s happening. You can’t set that away. You can’t limit that,” he said. “This is the consequence when people have not just completely lost faith in the media apparatus, but have become openly hostile to it.” — with files from The Associated Press © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
