Interpret

Carlotta Dotto, a data journalist at First Draft, discusses her investigation into polio-related misinformation on social media & how it impacted efforts to eradicate polio in Pakistan, one of just two countries where polio is still endemic. She goes onto share how health misinformation can spread so quickly and what social media companies can do to combat COVID-19 misinformation.Resources: https://firstdraftnews.org/long-form-article/first-draft-case-study-understanding-the-impact-of-polio-vaccine-disinformation-in-pakistan/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/25/fox-news-hannity-coronavirus-misinformation/https://misinforeview.hks.harvard.edu/https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2020/06/27/Fighting-COVID-19-coronavirus-vaccine-misinformation/stories/202006170059

Recently, Attorney General Bill Barr asked Apple to unlock the Pensacola shooter's iPhone, which reignited the national debate around online security versus public safety. My conversation today with Alan Rozenshtein dives into what exactly AG Barr requested, whether it's even possible, and the larger implications of this request for law enforcement and civil liberties. Alan Z. Rozenshtein is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School. Previously, he taught law at the Georgetown University Law Center and served as an Attorney Advisor with the Office of Law and Policy in the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

A two-part conversation on the growing presence of China and Russia on the African continent. In part one, we'll talk to Samuel Woodhams about the narratives around China’s growing presence on the continent. And in part two, we'll talk to Shelby Grossman about how Russia has been interfering in African elections and politics through influence networks and social media.  Shelby Grossman is a research scholar at the Stanford Internet Observatory. Her primary research interests are in comparative politics and Sub-Saharan Africa. She was also a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.Samuel Woodhams is the Digital Rights Lead, at Top10VPN, an independent privacy group and VPN review website. He writes about the intersection of politics and technology. His work has been featured in Deutsche Welle, CNN, Just Security and African Arguments, amongst others.Resources: Freedom of Net Report: https://freedomhouse.org/report-types/freedom-netChina, Africa, and the Future of the Internet: https://www.zedbooks.net/shop/book/china-africa-and-the-future-of-the-internet/The Great Firewall of China: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MB474LV/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China's Great Firewall: https://www.amazon.com/Censored-Distraction-Diversion-Inside-Firewall-ebook/dp/B0785RHCXK/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Censored+by+Margaret&qid=1576729288&s=digital-text&sr=1-1Australian Strategic Policy Institute: https://www.aspi.org.au/report/mapping-more-chinas-tech-giantsEvidence of Russia-Linked Influence Operations in Africa: https://fsi.stanford.edu/publication/evidence-russia-linked-influence-operations-africaWhat Russia Really Wants from Africa: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/12/03/russia-wants-more-influence-africa-its-using-disinformation-get-there/ 

In this episode, we discuss all things internet shutdown with Berhan Taye from how countries are able to turn off the internet within their borders to whether these internet blackouts are actually effective in preventing misinformation. Berhan Taye leads Access Now’s #KeepItOn campaign, a global campaign to stop internet shutdowns. Before joining Access Now, she was a researcher for the Technology for Social Justice Field Scan project where she investigated the tech and social justice space in the U.S. She was also a Ford-Mozilla Open Web Fellow (2016-2017) with Research Action Design and Open Technology Institute.

In this episode, we discuss the relationship between video & human rights, Deepfakes, and the misinformation era with Adebayo.Adebayo Okeowo uses visuals to make the law less complicated and more relatable to communicate critical issues like human rights. He is currently the Africa Program Manager at WITNESS, an international human rights organization that helps people use video and technology to protect and defend human rights. He is also a human rights lawyer with experience working for African and international organizations such as the Centre for Human Rights and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. Recommendations:For Sama (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsvBqtg2RM0)Dry (https://youtu.be/T6tjdHk4crI )Kaya (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvaBubdHXyk)