Confronting a CIA Agent on Fake News | Cindy Otis Ep. 715

Cindy Otis is a former CIA military analyst specializing in disinformation threat analysis and counter-messaging, and is the author of True or False: A CIA Analyst’s Guide to Spotting Fake News.

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Full show notes can be found here: https://jordanharbinger.com/715

What We Discuss with Cindy:
0:00 - Intro
0:06 - What exactly is fake news?
6:51 - Jack The Ripper: the first account of fake news
12:58 - How China and Russia exploit influencers
18:38 - Fake news isn't meant to be persuasive
22:02 - How satire is different than fake news
24:33 - The least intelligent, highest emotion people spread fake news
26:55 - How militaries use fake news
33:07 - Why extremists don't want moderates to vote
37:19 - "Confronting a CIA Analyst on FAKE NEWS"
42:56 - The post-truth era
48:17 - Why people can't distinguish fact from opinion
55:30 - How fear is exploited
1:00:52 - How to be more aware of fake news in your feed

Call it whatever you like, but “fake news” isn’t a new invention. It’s been around at least since the ancient world when Pharaoh Ramesses had his allegedly huge victory over the Hittites immortalized in stone (still visible today) in spite of being pretty evenly matched and actually losing territory when it was time to sign the world’s first peace treaty. And it doesn’t matter if you happen to believe the fake news that’s bombarding you daily, as long as it saps your morale for critical thinking and keeps you in a state of perpetual mistrust.

To investigate the evolution of fake news and its weaponization in the age of social media, we’re joined by ex-CIA analyst Cindy Otis, author of True or False: A CIA Analyst’s Guide to Spotting Fake News. Here, we discuss what fake news is and why it’s so quick to take root, how misinformation differs from disinformation, what happens when satire is spread as fact, how people in strange places get rich inventing lies that destabilize democracy, and how we can inoculate ourselves — and our children — against the intended impact of fake news. And no, the irony of dishing over fake news with someone who used to be in the CIA wasn’t lost on either of us! Listen, learn, and enjoy!

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