Civil Society

#195: Independent Journalism in a Fragmented Media System, with Jacob Ward

January 17, 2026 Civil Society

Jacob Ward, accomplished journalist and host of The Rip Current, joins the podcast to discuss independent journalism in today’s fragmented media environment. We begin with a conversation about whether the “news cycle” still makes sense, before turning to how platforms like YouTube and TikTok enable journalists to build direct relationships with audiences. Jacob reflects on sourcing, livestreaming, journalistic ethics, and the differences between working as an independent journalist versus reporting within major news organizations.

#191: Digitally Organizing People Power: Inside Solidarity Tech, with Ivan Pardo

December 8, 2025 Civil Society

Ivan Pardo, Founder of Solidarity Tech, shares how tech can solve organizing bottlenecks for political campaigns. We discuss how Solidarity Tech was used for digital organizing in Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign in New York and Catherine Connelly’s presidential win in Ireland. Beyond tech functionality, we discuss how CRM platforms can give campaigns a human touch, how tech integrates with the culture of a campaign, and the potential downsides of gamification for volunteer organizing. 

 

You can read more about Solidarity Tech’s origins and functionality here. 

#186: Content Moderation with Out-of-Court Dispute Settlement Bodies, with Thomas Hughes

October 4, 2025 Civil Society

Thomas Hughes, CEO of Appeals Centre Europe, explains out-of-court dispute settlement bodies (ODS bodies) and the role they play in the Digital Services Act. 

 

We discuss Appeals Centre Europe’s first Transparency Report, which provides an initial glimpse into how Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube are handling requests from ODS bodies. We cover some top line descriptives from the Centre’s first year: how many disputes were submitted, from which platform, and what types of content they were about. We also talk about ‘signposting’ and how the platforms are communicating their digital rights to users.

#185: How the EU is Shielding Elections from Disinformation, Manipulation, and AI, with Jakub Szymik

June 22, 2025 Civil Society

Jakub Szymik, Founder of CEE Digital Democracy Watch, discusses the EU’s ongoing initiatives to fight disinformation, regulate political advertising, and protect election integrity on social media. Jakub shares his insights on the Digital Services Act, the European Democracy Shield, and how these initiatives relate to digital political advertising on social media. We also discuss the latest Polish Presidential elections in terms of digital ad spending, Gen AI content, and political influencers.

 

CEE Digital Democracy Watch has just published a new report outlining how 60 stakeholder from CEE countries perceive the effectiveness of EU tech regulation and what challenges remain moving forward.

 

Read more about CEE Digital Democracy Watch’s proposed policy actions for the European Democracy Shield, including the disinformation monitoring service mentioned in the episode. 

#182: Journalism, Digital Fragmentation, and Fact-checking, with Neil Brown

April 6, 2025 Civil Society

Neil Brown, President of the Poytner Institute for Media Studies, discusses the challenges facing journalism. We discuss the concept of media trust, changing revenue models, and the challenges for journalism posed by digital fragmentation. Neil also shares his thoughts on fact-checking and Politifact.com, and we end with a discussion of AI’s implications for journalism. 

#175: Countering Project 2025 with Google Search Ads, with Kindred Motes

September 1, 2024 Civil Society

Kindred Motes, Founder and Managing Partner at KM Strategies Group (KMSG), shares his advocacy work  to counter the online reach of Project 2025. Working with the  Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, KMSG launched a paid campaign on Google Search before Project 2025 became mainstream. Kindred shares how TikTok played a role in catalyzing Project 2025 as a political issue, as well as some of the challenges that nonprofits face in running digital ad campaigns. We also discuss the benefits and trade-offs of social media for advocacy work, and end with some practical tips for how nonprofits can effectively communicate in today’s fragmented media landscape. 

#172: Far Right Women Influencers on YouTube and Instagram, with Dr. Eviane Leidig

April 7, 2024 Civil Society

Dr. Eviane Leidig, Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at Tilburg University, discusses her book “The Women of the Far Right: Social Media Influencers and Online Radicalization.” 

We break down the role of social media for the alt-right movement, and how platforms like Instagram and YouTube work to mainstream extremist views. These insights come from Dr. Leidigs research conducting digital ethnography on women influencers prominent on the American Right. 

#158: Progressive Big Tech Regulation and Advocacy, with Adam Kovacevich

February 5, 2023 Civil Society

Adam Kovacevich, Founder and CEO of Chamber of Progress, shares his trade association’s goals for progressive advocacy in the tech sector. We discuss the politicization of ‘Big Tech’ and  recent opinion polls about Midterm voters’ attitudes towards tech regulation. We also discuss how First Amendment rights apply to tech companies, misperceptions of the techlash, and partisan differences in moderating misinformation and free speech.

 

Extra Links:

President Biden’s op-ed in WSJ

Adam’s presentation on Chamber of Progress’ Midterm Poll

Episode #49 on CCIA and Tech Trade Associations

#147: Anti-immigration YouTube Videos: Tactics and Narratives, with Shauna Siggelkow

August 7, 2022 Civil Society

Shauna Siggelkow, Director of Digital Storytelling at Define American, discusses a new report on anti-immigration YouTube videos: ‘Immigration will Destroy Us and Other Talking Points.’


We break down the report, which identifies a network of viral YouTube videos promoting narratives associated with the Great Replacement Theory. Shauna also shares findings from experiments that test how different genres, animation styles, and messengers can effectively communicate political issues.


Check out the toolkit for communicating pro-immigration messages (and other types of political content) on digital and social media.