Unspun – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media

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Who Controls Your News Feed? Algorithms, Inequality, and the News You See (UnSpun Journal Club)

mardi 8 septembre 2026 • Durée 19:32

You probably saw some news today.

But did you choose it?

Or did it simply find you?

In this episode of UnSpun, DrSturg looks at research examining how people experience news in everyday life—and why that experience differs depending on how much money you have and how educated you are. The industry needs to look at audiences differently, and the implications for democracy are profound.

LINKS

Paper covered in this episode

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We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media

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Can You Trust Influencers? The Hidden Power of Parasocial Relationships

mardi 1 septembre 2026 • Durée 24:29

Why does an influencer you've never met sometimes feel like a friend?

In this episode of UnSpun, DrSturg looks at the psychology behind parasocial relationships — the one-sided relationships audiences can develop with influencers, creators, streamers, and other public figures.

We’ll look at how influencers create a sense of intimacy and how those relationships can make advertising more persuasive, reduce our resistance to sales pitches, increase loyalty, and encourage people to spend more time and money with a creator. They can also create enormous pressure for influencers themselves.

And the stakes get even higher when influence moves beyond products and into politics.

As governments, brands, platforms, and political actors recognize how powerful influencers can be, we have to ask a bigger question:

What happens when the person shaping what you think is not a journalist, but someone who feels like your friend?

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Science for the rest of us: Why experts need a megaphone (UnSpun Rewind)

mercredi 26 août 2026 • Durée 31:47

It's harder to get quality information on science that affects your health and life. Dr. Sturg interviews science communicator and neuroscientist Dr. Ben Rein on how researchers with media skills can make a difference. PLUS,

People rely on some bad cues for how to make choices, and sometimes newsmakers don't help. In this episode, learn why "we've always done it this way" can be a bad thing.

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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn3KN9-HZ0y_kgZWlkhOPtQ

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We Are #AltGov; Inside the Social Media Resistance

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Why quality news matters: Journalism and Democracy (UnSpun Rewind)

mardi 18 août 2026 • Durée 22:20

How can we be drowning in information and at the same time, badly informed? In this week's UnSpun, DrSturg breaks down the relationship of journalism and democracy. Journalism came first, and democracy wouldn't exist without it. But today, journalism is struggling and around the world, democracy is struggling right along with it. Find out how the relationship works, why it's failing and what you can do about it as you get UnSpun.

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We are #AltGov

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What happens when the rich control the news? UnSpun Rewind: Press in an Oligarchy

mardi 11 août 2026 • Durée 22:46

Who really controls the news? And what happens when it's the wealthy? In this UnSpun, rewind, Dr. Sturg explores the role of the press in an oligarchy, which is where a small, powerful elite shapes public perception through media ownership, restricted access, and censorship. From billionaire-backed news outlets to state-controlled media, learn how information is manipulated and some things journalists can do to fight back.

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Dr. Sturg’s Books

We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media

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Why is the government targeting universities and the media? UnSpun Rewind on Authoritarians and the News

mardi 4 août 2026 • Durée 24:34

On this week's UnSpun, DrSturg explores why authoritarian governments target the press and educational institutions, and how these tactics are appearing in democracies worldwide:

Why authoritarian governments restrict press freedom:

Common tactics of information control:

The consequences of information control:

Ways to overcome the censorship

Resources mentioned:

Survey: http://bit.ly/UnSpunSurvey
Books: "Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News" and "We Are #AltGov: Social Media Resistance from the Inside"

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Why does everything feel broken? How newsmakers use sabotage methods to undermine your confidence in your government

mardi 28 juillet 2026 • Durée 27:24

There was a secret playbook for destroying governments and newsmakers use some of the same tactics on YOU right now.

What if the chaos in your government isn't an accident? In 1944, the OSS (now the CIA) wrote a classified manual teaching resistance fighters how to dismantle a Nazi occupation from within. Today, those same tactics are being used by governments, politicians and would-be authoritarians,and it's working.

In this episode of UnSpun, DrSturg goes over the 5 sabotage strategies straight from the now declassified Simple Sabotage Field Manual. Learn what to look for with examples from recent news.

LINKS

The declassified OSS sabotage manual

JD Vance tweet with false information about immigrants eating pets

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Less news, more noise: Why weaker newscasts are bad for democracy

mardi 21 juillet 2026 • Durée 18:14

America has more news shows than ever, but somehow, we have less information.

In this episode of UnSpun Journal Club, DrSturg looks as new research analyzing more than fifty years of American broadcast television news. Researchers found that advertising has expanded while substantive public-interest reporting has steadily declined.

She also looks at how political rhetoric shapes public perception, why language that divides people into "normal" and "abnormal" matters and the best thing you can do to fight it.

LINKS

The Vanderbilt TV News Archive

Original Paper from This Episode

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