PopTalks Podcast | Episode 3 Launches October 12
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
Nearly seven in ten people around the world believe government officials, business leaders, and journalists are deliberately misleading them. Global trust in the news just hit its lowest point since 2015.
In this week's episode of PopTalks, Dr. Thoai Ngo sits with Jason Lemon, Deputy News Director at Newsweek, to ask a question that should not be ignored: when anyone can publish and algorithms decide what we see, who do you actually trust?
More than half of people aged 18 to 24 now say social media, video platforms, and AI chatbots — not television or news websites — are their main source of news. So today, Jason and I dig into what that shift is doing to how younger generations understand the world, and what it means for those of us trying to communicate complex science and health information to the public.
"There’s always been problems with the media. There’s always been bias, fake news, conspiracy theories. I think the difference now is just that it is spreading quicker — and there are so many more avenues for it to spread around the world within seconds."
Jason brings a newsroom's-eye view to a conversation I think about constantly in public health: if people don't trust the messenger, they don't trust the message.
In this episode:
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Why trust in traditional news institutions is at a record low worldwide, and what that means for public health messaging
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How younger generations are getting news from creators, social platforms, and AI chatbots rather than legacy outlets
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Whether Gen Z is better informed, differently informed, or simply informed through different channels
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The challenge of communicating complex science and health information to audiences reading below a sixth-grade level
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AI chatbots as a news source: the promise of faster access to information versus the risk of convincing falsehoods
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Practical media literacy advice for navigating an information landscape shaped by creators, algorithms, biased news sources, and AI
This is the third episode of PopTalks. If you haven’t listened to the first two, be sure to this week! You’ll hear from two key workers from the ACLU that are fighting to protect abortion access and immigration rights.
Let's get into it.
