S9-Ep13: Reality Lost - How Disinformation Shapes Your World

Guest: Tara McGowan

Misinformation and disinformation have become the lifeblood of social media – even some cable channels hungry for ratings. But, as a leader, you need hard facts and straight information.

 

How did we get here, and what can you do to find the good data your decisions need? Tara McGowan, founder and publisher of Courier Newsroom, notes that propaganda and disinformation have always existed…but social media’s algorithms have amplified it exponentially, creating hard echo chambers that can be hard for truth to get through. And, she says, that puts not just your business at risk, but democracy itself. Fortunately, she has some solutions!

 

Here's what Tara and host Maureen Metcalf cover: 

• How social media algorithms work – and revolutionized the spread of misinformation;
• Ways leaders can recognize disinformation and halt its spread; and
• Simple steps we can all take to be media literate.

 

Other episodes you'll enjoy: 

• You Are Enough, You Are Worthy: Leadership Lessons for Women with Betsy Myers
• Hot Topics: A Prime Minister’s Perspective with Kim Campbell
• Democracy: Are We a Brittle Twig or Supple Bamboo? with Matt Qvortrup

 

For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re on Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon and Twitter, too! 

 

RESOURCES:   

More information on Courier Newsroom is available at their website: https://couriernewsroom.com.

 

Tara’s website tracking election campaign spending and digital strategies is https://fwiwmedia.com.

 

Our host, Maureen Metcalf, posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here.  

 

She’s also written several award-winning books on leadership development. You can peruse and purchase them here.  

 

 

If you’d like to learn more about journalism, try these books: 

• Undaunted: How Women Changed American Journalism by Brooke Kroeger (hardback=https://amzn.to/3lsU4DE, Kindle=https://amzn.to/3JynXKM)
• With Heroic Truth: The Life of Edward R. Murrow by Norman Finkelstein (https://amzn.to/3Z4xDlW)
• Information Wars: How We Lost the Global Battle Against Disinformation by Richard Stengel at https://amzn.to/3yWvpu5 (paperback) and https://amzn.to/3yXN7O0 (Kindle)

 

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OUR PODCAST TEAM:   

Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf 

Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko 

Video & Graphics Editor: Devon Mushalko 

(Information requiring higher security clearance than you have): Luigi Morelli, Jenna Reik, & Connor Carson 

CONNECT WITH US:  

Facebook: facebook.com/Innovativeleadership  

YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership  

Twitter: @IL_Institute  

Mastodon: @InnoLeader  

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2  

Instagram: @innovativeleader  

Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com  

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating!  

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About Our Guest:   

 

Tara McGowan is the founder and publisher of Courier Newsroom and CEO of Good Information Inc., a civic incubator that invests in immediate solutions to counter disinformation online. A former political strategist with an early career in journalism, Tara has seen firsthand how America’s information crisis has contributed to the rising threat of authoritarianism and the deterioration of social trust.