Episode 11: The Kamala Harris Disinfo Dossier
From cuckoo claims she’s secretly a man to attacks questioning her Blackness, Kamala Harris conspiracy theories are one of the most predictable features of the 2024 election, it turns out. Disinformation researcher Nina Jankowicz unravels the three main disinfo narratives that have targeted Kamala for years and what they sound like today, and Cristen follows the red string to the self-proclaimed "queen of the birthers".
This is the season one post-finale finale that had to be made, and stick around til the end to find out what rabbit hole we're hopping down next!
guest:
Nina Jankowicz is an internationally-recognized expert on disinformation and democratization and the author of two books: How to Lose the Information War (2020) and How to Be A Woman Online (2022). Jankowicz has advised governments, international organizations, and tech companies, and testified before the US Congress, the British Parliament, and the European Parliament.
Jankowicz knows what it is like to be attacked for defending the truth. In 2022, Jankowicz was appointed to lead the Disinformation Governance Board, an intra-agency best practices and coordination entity at the Department of Homeland Security. She resigned the position after a sustained disinformation campaign caused the Biden Administration to abandon the project.
sources:
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Broderick, Ryan. Conspiracy Theories Are No Longer as Useful as Trump Thinks They Are. GQ. 11 Sep, 2024.
Delzer, Erielle. Sham U.S. news site spreads false claims about Kamala Harris. CBS News. 6 Sep, 2024.
Ellis, Emma Gray. That Racist Kamala Conspiracy Theory Is Nothing New. Wired. 19 Aug, 2020.
Fayyad, Abdallah. What the conspiracy theory about Nikki Haley’s citizenship is really about. Vox. 21 Jan, 2024.
Gilbert, David. Trump Fans Spread Debate Conspiracy About Microphone Earrings. Wired. 11 Sep, 2024.
Goldmacher, Shane. Trump and Republicans Bet Big on Anti-Trans Ads Across the Country. The New York Times. 8 Oct, 2024.
Halstian, Mariam. Gendered Disinformation Is Not a “Women-only” Issue, It Poses a Threat to Election Integrity. Georgetown Security Studies Review. 29 Mar, 2024.
Hsu, Tiffany. Tackling the falsehoods about Kamala Harris. The New York Times. 24 Jul, 2024.
Jankowicz, Nina; Hunchak, Jillian; Pavliuc, Alexandra et al. Malign Creativity: How Gender, Sex, and Lies are Weaponized Against Women Online. Wilson Center. January 2021.
Martin, Michel. For much of Kamala Harris' political career she's been the target of online trolls. NPR. 22 Jul, 2024.
Overs, Bria. Celebrities of color face an onslaught of conspiracy theories and misinformation. Experts say that's not a coincidence. Insider. 30 Aug, 2020.
Rodriguez, Barbara. Racist, misogynist online disinformation is already being used against Kamala Harris' campaign. The 19th. 24 Jul, 2024.
Slevin, Peter. The Increasing Attacks on Kamala Harris. New Yorker. 27 Feb, 2024.
Stocker, Joanne. Right-wing influencer spreads false claim Kamala Harris wore earpiece during debate. CBS News. 11 Sep, 2024.
Wells, Ione and Cruz, Jessica. Why 'Comrade Kamala' memes are taking off among Latino exiles. BBC. 23 Sep, 2024.
Yourish, Karen and Gamio, Lazaro. ‘Coup’ and ‘Coverup’: How the GOP Is Reacting to the Harris Candidacy. The New York Times.
