Anti-vaccine activists online continue hammering their argument, claiming they had always been right, says fact-checker Tommaso Canetta. He edits fact-checking briefs for the European Digital Media Observatory, where they monitor how COVID, climate and war disinformation ebbs and flows.
ChatGPT and disinformation
Created just when Italian authorities effectively banned ChatGPT, this episode is about the AI’s potential to mass-produce disinformation.
How algorithms make fringe parties disproportionately visible
After attending a talk by Prof. Miguel Poiares Maduro, I invited him to be a guest on our podcast. We are discussing how far-right and far-left parties promote Russia’s talking points on Ukraine, but which ones will do this depends on each country’s political landscape.
The Inoculation’s news roundup
We discuss the ‘died suddenly’ conspiracy, foreign actors, and insects in food
Unwish list for 2023
When I started watching DIY videos, YouTube decided that I could use some minimalist advice. One or two curious clicks later, YouTube offers me an endless list of 10, 20 or 50 items people no longer want in their homes and lives. This reminded me of writing a pandemic-time post about unwish lists. I also re-read the blog post that …
Is there a future for Twitter as a public space?
Like many others, I joined Mastodon last year (you can find me @daivarep@dju.social). The Twitter migration, as it became known, was a reaction to the change in ownership of Twitter. Famously, the oligarch Elon Musk bought Twitter and made some sweeping changes. In the last episode of our podcast of the year 2022, Eva and I discuss how are the …
Usually doctors are a great source of health information. But some doctors are different
Some doctors on both sides of the Atlantic (and beyond, but we are less informed about those) have boosted their following by going against the scientific consensus on COVID-19. Why would doctors, celebrity or not, spread disinformation? We discuss it on The Inoculation podcast.
When spirituality supports conspiracies
Eva and I have been noting trends of so-called conspirituality since 2020, and finally we have a chance to share what we know on our podcast: Research shows that people who identify as spiritual are disproportionately likely to believe in conspiracy theories. There are several possible explanations for this — spiritual people tend to look for links and bonds everywhere …
Audio story on Lithuanian seasons
My story from Lithuania has recently aired on Deutsche Welle Living Planet