“They’re burning all the witches,” sang Taylor Swift on the album “reputation,” a lyric with meaning about modern-day witch hunts, cancel culture, and, in fact, disinformation. In this week’s episode of The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson break down the recent attack on Taylor Swift’s actual reputation and the self-harm done to America’s reputation by its new national security strategy. Then, they welcome L. Gordon Crovitz, co-CEO of NewsGuard, for a great conversation about the current threat-landscape, America’s unilateral disarmament in this fight, the prospect for corralling social media and AI platforms, and the enduring value of good local news.

Alliance Strategic Communications with Janis Sarts
34:35

Special Edition: The U.S. Response to the East German Protests of 1953 with Jim Ludes
09:17

Special Edition: Edward Bernays and "The Engineering of Consent" with Mark Jacobson
08:15