Episode 7: Insights from Greentarget’s 2021 Fake News report
Release Date: 12/21/2021
Thinking of Fake News as a Chaos Problem
Authority Figures
In this episode of Authority Figures, Aaron Schoenherr talks with Chandran Sankaran, founder and CEO of Repustar, a novel fact distribution platform that partners with news organizations. The pair will discuss how technology can play a role in fighting so-called “fake news,” and journalism’s pivotal – but changing — role in that fight. 1:23 – Chandran discusses his path to Repustar, what motivated him to found the company and the problems he hopes to help solve through Repustar’s FactSparrow platform. 5:33 – Aaron and Chandran dig deeper into how the FactSparrow platform works...
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Episode 7: Insights from Greentarget’s 2021 Fake News report
Authority Figures
Even with a contentious presidential election and the worst of COVID-19 behind us, journalists say the fake news situation isn’t getting better. And they don’t know how to address it. But if journalists don’t know how combat fake news, who does? That was the focus of Greentarget’s , which was released in late October. In this episode of Authority Figures, Aaron Schoenherr sits down with members of the Greentarget team – including Betsy Hoag, Director of Research and Planning, Lisa Seidenberg, Vice President of Media Relations, and Paul Wilson, Vice President of Content and...
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Episode 6: Ad Tech and the Dissemination of Fake News
Authority Figures
Some big names in ad tech have gone public in recent months as advertisers look for programmatic ways to get in front of consumers. But is the rise of ad tech also fueling the rise of fake news? After watching the phenomenon for years, CNBC’s Megan Graham thinks it is. In this episode of Authority Figures, Graham and host Aaron Schoenherr discuss the proliferation of copy-cat sites trying to game the ad tech space and how things have gotten worse since the start of the pandemic. The problem is hitting traditional newsrooms and reporters like Graham, who demonstrates the problem in real time...
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Episode 5: Good Old-Fashioned Journalism Meets Good Old-Fashioned PR
Authority Figures
More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic and with the 2020 election still making waves, fake news and its polarizing impact is still coursing through our society. Much has been said on the topic, but questions remain: Whose responsibility is it to tackle? How does this differ from fake news of the past? Has fake news changed the relationship between PR and journalism? In this episode, host Aaron Schoenherr and Charles Davis, Dean of the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia, discuss findings from Greentarget’s Fake News 2020 survey, the...
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Episode 4: A Seat at the Table
Authority Figures
In part two of their conversation, host Aaron Schoenherr and Tanarra Schneider, Managing Director of Leadership & Culture at Accenture, discuss corporate America’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. They cover why diversity and inclusion initiatives are felt before they’re measured, and the challenges leaders face in backing up their organization’s point of view with meaningful action. Episode Highlights: 1:27 - Aaron and Tanarra discuss affinity groups and who in an organization should have a seat at the table 3:50 - Tanarra provides advice on preparing C-suite executives for...
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Episode 3: The Racial Reckoning and Going Beyond the Performative
Authority Figures
A year after George Floyd’s murder, companies across America are still struggling with their place in the country’s racial reckoning. Many quickly released statements on diversity, equity, and inclusion – but they need to back up their words with actions. They need to go beyond the performative. In the first of two episodes, Authority Figures host Aaron Schoenherr and Tanarra Schneider, Managing Director of Leadership & Culture at Accenture, discuss how organizations can – and should – go beyond the performative from an internal and external standpoint. Effective communication on...
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Episode 2: Using Data to Create Transparency and Authority Within Your Organization
Authority Figures
Companies across the country are investing in data and how to harness it, yet some continue to struggle with using that data to tell their story. That means they’re missing the opportunity to create transparency within their organization and, most notably, the chance to exercise their authority through the contextual awareness their data can bring. In this episode, host Aaron Schoenherr and President Nick Beil discuss going beyond the dashboard and into data, the relationship between transparency and authority and data overload in the age of COVID. Episode Highlights: 1:17 – Nick provides...
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Episode 1: Authority in the COVID Moment
Authority Figures
How do you capture history as it happens? When the pandemic’s full effects became clear in March, History Factory began its COVID-19 Memory Project to capture corporate America’s reaction in real-time and provide insight into how organizations are responding to the crisis. In this episode, host Aaron Schoenherr and History Factory Managing Director Jason Dressel discuss the project rising above the noise of standard thought leadership, and how every organization will have its “COVID moment.” 1:30 – Jason discusses his background and introduces History Factory. 2:31 – A deep dive...
info_outlineEven with a contentious presidential election and the worst of COVID-19 behind us, journalists say the fake news situation isn’t getting better. And they don’t know how to address it.
But if journalists don’t know how combat fake news, who does? That was the focus of Greentarget’s 2021 Fake News report, which was released in late October.
In this episode of Authority Figures, Aaron Schoenherr sits down with members of the Greentarget team – including Betsy Hoag, Director of Research and Planning, Lisa Seidenberg, Vice President of Media Relations, and Paul Wilson, Vice President of Content and Editorial— to discuss the report and its findings. The team discusses how fake news can be combatted, what role regulation might play and how we can prepare the next generation to face the challenges presented by fake news.
Episode Highlights:
1:00 — Betsy describes the background behind the report, what went into devising the survey questions, and who answered them
4:26 — Paul defines fake news and discusses the term’s polarizing nature
5:47 — Acknowledging fears of journalism’s delegitimization, Lisa goes over what clients should take away from this year’s survey findings
7:37 — Betsy and Lisa talk about how survey respondents’ political beliefs challenge preconceived notions about who is affected by fake news, and how to counsel clients in such a polarized environment
10:23 — Paul and Betsy try to get at the heart of journalists’ hesitation to amend Section 230
13:40 — Lisa and Paul speak about how to engage journalists amid the fake news controversy, and what journalists can do to combat fake news
19:30 — Betsy, Lisa, and Paul examine the psychological impact of consuming a fake news story, and share their own experiences with fake news
25:39 — Knowing that trust in news media is at an all-time low, Betsy, Lisa, and Paul contemplate ways to prepare their children to navigate the fake news landscape
Click here to download Greentarget’s 2021 Fake News report.