Impossible Tradeoffs with Katie Harbath (Katie Harbath)

Technology and democracy are at a crossroads. Technology can potentially empower people and make our democracies more responsive. Or technology can be used to manipulate and divide us.

Welcome to Impossible Tradeoffs. I’m Katie Harbath. 

In this weekly podcast, we’ll talk about and analyze the most fascinating headlines. We’ll make predictions about where things are going. And we’ll talk to experts about the challenges we face and how we might look for solutions.

I’m a 20-year veteran in the technology and democracy space. I moved to DC from Wisconsin in 2003 to work on political campaigns. 

In 2011, I went to Facebook, where over the course of ten years, I built teams worldwide that work with politicians and governments on using the platform to engage with constituents. I also coordinated the company's work on elections. In 2021, I created Anchor Change—a consultancy and Substack newsletter focused on the intersection of technology and democracy.

I’ve seen a lot. I’ve been in the rooms making tough decisions where you have to weigh some difficult choices. I call them impossible tradeoffs.

Our first episode jumps right in with the tsunami of elections happening in 2024. This is the first time that, in the same year as a U.S. presidential election, we’ll have elections in India, Indonesia, Ukraine, Taiwan, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the European Parliament. In total, we are tracking 65 elections across 54 countries. That is not only a huge geopolitical moment for the world but a lot of fronts to protect the integrity of elections.

In future episodes, we’ll interview experts on content moderation, how companies balance freedom of speech, and the need to protect people from harmful content. We’ll talk about the role of AI and the shifts in online political advertising. We’ll do deep dives into some countries going to elections and explore how these issues manifest themselves in those places.

A lot is going on, and I can only guarantee change. 

I hope this podcast will help you make sense of these developing events, be prepared for what will happen next, and understand how these issues impact you and others around the globe. 

Be sure to follow this show on your favorite podcast platform so you don’t miss a single episode. I look forward to discussing impossible tradeoffs with you.

This week, my guest host is Crystal Patterson. She was on my team at Facebook for seven years and now is President of the Washington Media Group. She joins me to answer the hard questions such as if you could only order one of these would you choose french fries or ice cream? We also get into last week’s Congressional gathering on AI with tech executives and how companies will be preparing for the 2024 elections

Then I chatted with Rebecca Thein. Becca worked at Twitter in the pre-Musk times in trust and safety, focusing a lot on elections. We look at:

* Why 2024 is such a special election year

* Where the tech companies are today vis-a-vis elections

* Her background and work at Twitter

* The types of issues organizations have to be worried about

* How teams prioritize what they work on

* How companies can help people to vote

* The Facebook 2020 research on the platform’s impact on elections

* What she’s watching over the next 16 months

Welcome to the second Impossible Tradeoffs podcast! This week’s fun, hard question is: Would you rather go to the lake or the beach? Vote below on what you would choose, and feel free to debate it in the comments!

I’m solo this week for the opener, so I tried out sharing all my hot takes on:

* The elections coming up in Slovakia and Poland.

* My takeaways from Bruce Mehlman’s latest quarterly trends report about what is happening in U.S. politics and policy - including AI regulation.

* The tech issues the Supreme Court will likely be taking up in the next term.

Then, for the main interview, I welcome Ryno Valdryno to the podcast. Ryno worked on the Indonesian elections at Facebook and, until recently, was the head of policy for the country.

We had a fascinating discussion about the fact that Indonesia might have three elections next year, who the prominent political candidates and parties are, how the country conducts its elections, and the role online platforms will play in the overall process.

I hope you enjoy!

Related Links

* New York Times: E.U. Law Sets the Stage for a Clash Over Disinformation

* Politico EU: TikTok and Meta warned over Slovakia election lies

* Axios: Expected Trump-Biden rematch shows how not to win, new analysis says

* USA Today: How the Supreme Court could alter the way Americans interact on the internet

* Google: Google and YouTube announce product features, partnerships and a US$2.5 million Google.org grant to support elections and equip Indonesians with the knowledge to detect misinformation

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter and podcast. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

Turns out I’m in the minority for last week’s fun tradeoff - 72% of you said you would choose the beach over going to the lake.

This week’s question is, would you order pancakes or waffles?

This week, I’m joined by two fabulous guests - Josh Lawson and Yoel Roth.

Josh was a colleague of mine at Facebook and is now doing work with the Aspen Institute on AI, elections, and trust. He’s my guest host this week, and we open the show looking at the Supreme Court deciding to take up the Texas and Florida content moderation bills, how people should judge if platforms are doing enough on elections, and his work as Aspen.

I then chatted with Yoel Roth - the former head of trust and safety at Twitter. Yoel has faced terrible harassment from former President Trump and Elon Musk, including this week when Musk said Roth and Kara Swisher - who interviewed Yoel last week at Code - are “the purest form of evil.”

We talk about why he continues to speak out in the face of this type of harassment, how trust and safety people can protect themselves, some of the toughest decisions he made at the company, and how we can restore trust in the content moderation process.

Here are some of the pieces we mention:

Yoel’s Pieces

* Lawfare: Content Moderation’s Legalism Problem 

* New York Times: Trump Attacked Me. Then Musk Did. It Wasn't an Accident. 

* New York Times: I Was the Head of Trust and Safety at Twitter. This Is What Could Become of It.

Kate Klonick: The New Governors: The People, Rules, and Processes Governing Online Speech

Resources for protecting yourself online

* DeleteMe

* Reputation Defender

* TallPoppy

* PrivacyParty

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

We’re back after a week off! At the beginning of this month, I was freaking out that scheduling guests was going slower than expected. However, in the last ten days, I’ve recorded six episodes (including this one) and one more to come. In the hopper includes conversations on India, the European Union, Africa, the United Kingdom, the history of tech policies on elections, and jawboning.

This week, I first welcome Dina Sadek from the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, where she has been leading the monitoring of how the conflict in Israel is showing up online.

Then, I welcome Carlos Cortez and Alejandro Moreno from Linterna Verde - an organization that analyzes how public opinion is built in networks and digital spaces.

Our talk covers all things elections in Latin America, including Argentina’s election this year, the constitutional referendum in Chile, and Mexico’s election next year.

Some links to their work that we cover:

* Circuito: An effort by them to gather information and analyze the intersection between social networks and democracy in Latin America.

* Here is an article on how they see recent changes to the region's content policies.

* And here is another one on election misinformation last year in Colombia.

* They have their own Substack, Botando Corriente, that you can subscribe to:  

* We also discussed this paper, “Mercenarios Digitales,” by CLIP: https://www.elclip.org/mercenarios-digitales/

If you are looking for some other good sources of information on what is happening in the region, I recommend:

* Latin America Risk Report

* The Brazilian Report (From whom I stole the title of this episode)

* Road to the Casa Rosada (This is all about the Argentina elections)

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this podcast. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

I have to apologize to you all. I forgot to put a poll in last week’s podcast notes about our fun tradeoff, which was how you would want to unwind.

I won’t make that same mistake this week! The hard question for you today is:

This week, we are joined by a bunch of exciting guests.

First up is Diane Chang.

Diane is a journalist-turned-product manager and was most recently Meta's election integrity product manager. She is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Brown Institute for Media Innovation at Columbia Journalism School.

For our first conversation, I wanted to talk to Diane about my current obsession with the role of news and politics on online platforms, given her experience as a journalist and a product manager.

Then, I welcome three of my favorite people who are part of the OG Facebook DC crew - Adam Conner, Brooke Oberwetter, and Matt Perault. Our conversation centered on jawboning: “informal government efforts to persuade, cajole, or strong-arm private platforms to change their content-moderation practices.”

From the top left, going clockwise, are Adam, Brooke, myself, and Matt.

We all worked on Facebook’s public policy team, regularly engaging with governments worldwide. Two things spurred this conversation. The first was Adam asking which of them I would have on as a guest first, and then a recent piece Matt and I wrote for the Knight First Amendment Institute on our experiences.

I didn’t dare pick between them, so I asked them all to come on together after Brooke responded to our piece on X/Twitter about how we should talk about Congressional letters as a form of jawboning. I thought that was a great point and invited them all to talk about their experiences.

Enjoy!

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this podcast. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

Welcome to another episode of Impossible Tradeoffs! Thank you all for bearing with me as I get used to being a podcast host. Listening to this latest episode, I realize I use some phrases a lot - like I’m always very excited for my guest. I'm going to work on standardizing some of these things.

But this is another interesting episode — first, the fun tradeoff. Last week, many of you said you’d prefer to get up for a 6 a.m. flight than take a red eye. This week, the question is: Would you rather read a physical copy of a book or a digital one?

First up this week is Theo Skeadas. Theo has a robust background, having worked at Twitter and in civil society and politics. Since leaving Twitter, she’s become an independent consultant, and much of her work focuses on AI. She was recently in the UK for the Partnership on AI. We discussed that, the executive order on AI from the White House and the UK AI Summit.

Then we turn to Laetitia Avia. Laetitia is a lawyer and former French Member of Parliament. Since leaving public office, she’s focused on digital policy in Europe and the United States. In our conversation, we discussed how Europe’s governing bodies are structured (it’s a little complicated, and I still mix it up sometimes), how the European elections work (they’re going to the polls June 6-9, 2024), and her thoughts on the Digital Services Act as well as other legislation making its way through the EU.

Enjoy!

From last week's poll, most of you prefer physical books to digital ones. Physical books won 73 percent to 27 percent. This week’s question is:

This week, we are nerding out on all things digital campaigning and the platforms’ approach to elections.

First up is my interview with Henri Makembe who is the CEO of Do Big Things - a creative services firm. Henri has a long history of digital campaigns and so we talked a little bit about how the field has evolved the last 15 years and what he’s watching as we go into 2024.

Then we turn to my conversation with Daniel Kreiss. Daniel is at the University of North Carolina and has long studied how campaigns use technology. He and I recently wrote a piece looking at the history of how platforms approach politics. We talk about that as well as the history of digital campaigning and the use of platforms.

Enjoy!

PS: Sorry for the weird opener. My original recording was screwed up so I re-recorded it using my iPhone voice memo app while at a conference.

Hey all, since I’m off elk hunting, there’s no fun question or intro interview for this episode. Instead, we’re going to jump right into the main discussion. This week, I chatted with Phumzile Van Damme, a fellow at Harvard and a long-time expert at the intersection of technology and human rights. She was kind enough to walk me through all things elections on the continent of Africa and the role that technology has played.

Hi all, we are back after a week break for Thanksgiving with a new episode! This week, I recorded three more interviews, which, along with the ones I already have in the hopper, will take us through December 28th.

After that, I plan on taking a short break - no more than a few weeks - to think about how I can make the podcast better. I’ve enjoyed putting it together and so appreciate my guests and you, the listener. To that end, I’d love your feedback. If you have a few minutes, please share your thoughts on the podcast here.

Ok, on to the show. First, our fun hard tradeoff question:

I’ve got two guests this week to talk all things elections and tech in the United Kingdom.

First up is my former colleague and manager at Facebook, Richard Allan. Richard was at the company for over a decade, running the public policy team in Europe and the policy solutions team. He is also a British Lord who spent much time getting the Online Safety Bill passed. Richard also has his own podcast that I highly recommend called Regulate.tech.

Next up is Sam Jeffers with Who Targets Me - an organization dedicated to bringing more transparency to political ads online. They also write a great Substack called Full Disclosure. In fact, they had a piece recently I highly recommend about how this upcoming UK election will be a digital election unlike anything the country has seen.

Enjoy!

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

Welcome to this week’s podcast. The fun question to kick things off with is …

For this week’s podcast, we are heading to India. I’ve been following Indian politics since late 2013 and find it absolutely fascinating. Their elections are unlike any anywhere else in the world.

To help us navigate all of that, Shoaib Daniyal joins me from the news website Scroll India. Shoaib is the political editor and walks us through everything from the mechanics of how election are run, all the various political parties, the leading candidates and what role tech will play.

Forgive me that I don’t have a picture of us, but due to the internet connection we had to be video off.

Also, don’t forget to share your feedback on the podcast overall. I want to make sure I’m taking your input into account when thinking about how to improve the podcast next year.

Enjoy!

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

There are only a few more episodes of Impossible Tradeoffs for 2023! Today’s fun tradeoff question is a real challenge:

From past tradeoff questions, most of you who took the polls prefer to live in the city (81%) rather than the country (19%). An equal number of you like to travel by plane and automobile (38%), and 25% of you like to take the train.

Also, don’t forget to take this quick survey to let me know your thoughts about the podcast and what you want to see in 2024!

Let’s get to this week’s podcast, which is with the amazing Dave Willner.

Charlotte and Dave Willner.

If you told me that the last breath of democracy would be picking rulers of the world, I would pick the Willners. I’ve known them both since my early Facebook days when they helped create the first content policies for the platform. They’ve both gone on to work at numerous platforms, and Charlotte runs the Trust and Safety Professionals Association. We don’t always agree, but I’ve never met two more thoughtful people on balancing really hard tradeoffs.

Dave joins us in conversation this week to talk about those challenging decisions. About how the field got started and has since evolved. He most recently was at OpenAI, where among the billion things he was doing, he was looking at how AI could be used for content moderation. He recently left so that he could focus more time on his family while still advising in this space. It’s a worthwhile story to be told that it’s okay to jump off the rocketship sometimes.

Enjoy!

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this podcast. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

You all like your guacamole! In last week's poll, 64% of you voted for it over queso. I have friends who have strong feelings on either side of this debate. Maybe someday I’ll expand this podcast beyond just impossible tradeoffs in tech. By the way, I’m on team queso.

This week’s fun tradeoff question is:

This week, we are traveling to Mexico. They will have their elections on June 2, 2024. Mexico’s presidents are limited to one term and only get elected every six years. That’s part of the reason it makes 2024 so unique in that you have big countries on four-, five-, and six-year cycles all matching up.

To help walk us through everything, Pamela San Martín joins us. Pamela is a member of the Meta Oversight Board and a former Electoral Councilor at the National Electoral Institute (INE) in Mexico.

Pamela San Martín

Elections and the civic space are among the Oversight Board’s seven strategic pillars. They’ve made crucial decisions on the Cambodian Prime Minister, Pakistan, Turkey, and President Trump’s suspension. Pamela and I also talked about the Board’s approach to this pillar.

Also, don’t forget I want your feedback! Please fill out this poll to help me think about making the podcast better next year.

Enjoy!

It’s our last podcast of the year! Thank you all for joining my journey in starting this podcast. As a reminder, I’ll take some time off before restarting episodes in 2024. Don't forget to fill out this short form if you have ideas for what you’d like to see.

This week’s fun trade-off is:

For our last guest of 2023, I’m welcoming Sarah Oh to the podcast.

Sarah is a human rights expert and tech executive who has worked at Meta, Twitter, and, most recently, Pebble. Pebble worked a lot like Twitter, but one thing Sarah and the other co-founders were adamant about was building the platform with a human-rights and safety-first approach. While Pebble did shut down a few weeks ago (the success of Threads really hurt their ability to grow and get funding), there are a lot of lessons to be learned from their experiences. Sarah’s co-founder, Gabor Cselle, covered some of his lessons learned in this Medium post, and Sarah talks about what she learned in the podcast.

Enjoy!

In this special episode of Impossible Tradeoffs, I sit down with Latika Bourke - a journalist who I first met in Sydney ten years ago - who now has her own Substack at Latika Takes . In celebration of Facebook’s 20th birthday we sat down to take a look back at the role the platform has played in politics and elections and what we might expect going forward.

We’re back! I didn’t intend to take two full months off from the podcast, but as many of you know, I started a new job in January as the Chief Global Affairs Officer of Duco Experts - a technology consulting firm. It has been overwhelming, in a good way, but it took me a bit to get started again with the podcast.

I’ve got some exciting guests lined up. I figure we’ll do this season through the end of May, and then I’ll re-evaluate for the rest of the year.

To kick things off, I’m excited to have Luis Lozada, the CEO of Democracy Works. You may not have heard of Democracy Works, but you likely have encountered their work. They do the painstaking work of gathering all the information about where, when, and how to vote from the thousands of election officials across the country to put it in a readable format that companies like Google, TikTok, and Anthropic currently use.

I started working with them when I was at Facebook, and we used them to power many of our U.S.-based Election Day reminders. I was invited to join the board while I was at Facebook and have now been a board member for five years.

With the explosion of AI, Democracy Works is now helping companies think through the next generation of people getting election information. Luis and I cover that and more in our conversation.

Enjoy!

PS: If you are looking for the poll by the Bipartisan Policy Center, Integrity Institute and States United that we reference you can find it here.

PS: We’re now on video, too! With Season 2, I’ve launched an Impossible Tradeoffs YouTube channel if you'd like to watch our conversation rather than listen.

This week on the podcast, we are taking you to SXSW and discussing a conversation I had with Sasha Issenberg about his new book, Lie Detectives: How Political Campaigns Fight Disinformation. You might remember him from his popular book Victory Lab, which was published after Obama won.

Sasha’s book looks at people in the U.S. and Brazil who were at the forefront of helping campaigns figure out how to combat disinformation—including when to ignore it. He also touches on how many on the Right view this work, and it’s something we talk about as well. You can read an excerpt on Politico.

We interview each other in this conversation given our various experiences.

A huge thank you to SXSW for the audio after my recorder ran out of batteries halfway through. 😬

Please enjoy!

Anchor Change with Katie Harbath is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Don’t forget you can now also watch these conversations on YouTube!

This week, we are diving deep into elections and specifically where people go to get information on the election. Rachel Orey is the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Senior Associate Director where they are responsible for the organization’s election administration policy development, state and federal advocacy efforts, and the BPC Task Force on Elections. Their research focuses on evidence-based and data-driven reforms that meaningfully improve our elections ecosystem.

As many of you know, I was a fellow on Rachel’s team for nearly three years and one of my last acts as both a BPC and Integrity Institute fellow was to help get this survey off the ground. We did a similar one in 2022 as well.

Some of the findings include:Most Americans have confidence in the 2024 presidential election. They are more confident that votes in their community and state will be counted accurately than votes across the country.

* A majority of respondents (69%) are confident their votes will be counted accurately in the 2024 election. This includes majorities of Republicans (60% very or somewhat confident), Independents (59%), and Democrats (85%).

* Across all groups, Americans are most confident about an accurate count of votes in their community (74%). Just 64% are confident in an accurate count across the country.

* This difference is most pronounced among Republicans. Only 50% of Republicans express confidence that votes will be counted accurately at the national level compared with 66% at the local level—a gap of 16 percentage points.

* The confidence gap between local and national counting is an opportunity for voter education about how the counting and certification process works at all levels of our election system. While election officials may be doing a good job building confidence in their community, this gap shows the need for national and state media outlets, candidates, and political elites to help voters understand the robust processes and security measures that are present in every state.

Rachel digs into that and more in this week’s podcast.

Here’s the link to the security and integrity protections that make American elections strong, resilient, and trustworthy in every jurisdiction.

Don’t forget you can also watch these on YouTube!

This week we welcome Stanford Law Professor Nate Persily to the podcast. I’ve known Nate since 2013/2014 when he held a gathering at Stanford with folks in the tech/digital industry and the Federal Elections Commission. Nate has been a thought leader his entire career with experiences across technology, academia and election administration. We get into all of that in this conversation. Some links from what we talked about:

* Nate’s bio

* Stanford Cyber Policy Center

* Social Science One research partnership with Facebook

* Facebook 2020 election research

* Senate Testimony on Platform Transparency

Don’t forget you can also watch this on YouTube!

This week, we are talking to Michael Bąk. Michael brings more than two decades of experience across international development, peacebuilding, diplomacy, and tech policy. Throughout his career, he has sustained a strong commitment to democratic governance, human rights, and information integrity.

He is currently the Executive Director of the Forum on Information and Democracy and a former colleague of mine at Facebook, where he was the head of public policy for Thailand.

We dig into the relationship between technology companies and civil society, how he’s thinking about our information environment and how we protect democracy in the age of social media and artificial intelligence.

Show Links:

* Global Call for Research to Expand Literature on Crucial Research Questions, with Emphasis on Global South Regions

* Policy brief - Tech firms, governments urged to combat digital election threats (I forgot to mention that we did this with International IDEA and Democracy Reporting International)

* Policy Brief - Information Integrity in Times of Conflict

* AI as a Public Good: Ensuring Democratic Control of AI in the Information Space framework

* Why Do We Need to Discuss So-called "Information Integrity"?

* Euroviews. 'Regulation stifles innovation' is a misguided myth 

* Der Demokratieschützer Michael Bak über KI. - SZ.de 

* Fair Trade AI: https://background.tagesspiegel.de/digitalisierung/plaedoyer-fuer-eine-fairtrade-ki 

* Forum on Information and Democracy: www.informationdemocracy.org

Don’t forget you can watch all of these on YouTube!

This week, we are discussing all things online influence operations with one of the foremost experts - Olga Belogolva. We’re talking about Russians, Chinese, Iranians, and other actors who want to influence the online information environment. The title of this episode comes from one of her classes she used to teach at Georgetown.

Olga is the Director of the Emerging Technologies Initiative at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). She also a lecturer at the Alperovitch Institute for Cybersecurity Studies at SAIS, where she teaches a course on disinformation and influence in the digital age.

At Facebook/Meta, she led policy for countering influence operations, leading execution and development of policies on coordinated inauthentic behavior, state media capture, and hack-and-leaks within the Trust and Safety team. Prior to that, she led threat intelligence work on Russia and Eastern Europe at Facebook, identifying, tracking, and disrupting coordinated IO campaigns, and in particular, the Internet Research Agency investigations between 2017-2019.

Olga previously worked as a journalist, and her work has appeared in The Atlantic, National Journal, Inside Defense, and The Globe and Mail, among others. She is a fellow with the Truman National Security Project and serves on the review board for CYBERWARCON.

Enjoy!

Watch the video of our conversation on YouTube!

This week, I welcome Professor Kate Klonick to the podcast. The name of this episode comes from some amazing swag Kate made for a conference she put on last year on the history of the Trust and Safety profession. (You know how much I love swag.)

Kate is among the foremost experts on many things, including platform governance of speech. In 2018, she wrote a paper at Harvard titled “The New Governors: The People, Rules, and Processes Governing Online Speech,” which was a first-of-its-kind behind-the-scenes look at how platforms handle content moderation.

In 2021, she wrote a piece for the New Yorker about how then-Facebook set up the Oversight Board titled, “Inside the Making of Facebook’s Supreme Court.”

Recently, she has been writing on these topics at her Substack The Klonickles. One of her pieces I cite all the time is about the end of the golden age of tech accountability where in 2023 she makes the point:

[F]or all the of the complaining we’ve done about Big Tech’s lack of cooperation with accountability, transparency, and research efforts, I unfortunately think we’ll look back on the last five years as a Golden Age of Tech Company access and cooperation.

We talk about all of this and more. Enjoy!

Kate Klonick teaches Property, Internet Law, and a seminar on information privacy. Klonick's research focuses on law and technology, most recently on private platform governance of online speech. 

Klonick's scholarly work has appeared in The Yale Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, The Georgetown Law Journal, the peer-reviewed Copyright Journal of the U.S.A., The Maryland Law Review, and The Southern California Law Review. Her popular press writing has appeared in the New Yorker, New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Lawfare, Slate, Vox and numerous other publications.

Professor Klonick holds an A.B. with honors from Brown University where she studied both modern American History and cognitive neuroscience, a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center where she was a Senior Editor on the Georgetown Law Journal, and a Ph.D. in Law from Yale Law School. She clerked for Hon. Eric N. Vitaliano of the Eastern District of New York and Hon. Richard C. Wesley of the Second Circuit. She is an affiliated fellow at the Yale Law School Information Society Project and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is on leave for 2022-2023 serving as a Visiting Scholar at the Rebooting Social Media Institute at Harvard University.

I’m trying something different for this week’s podcast. I originally hoped I would have a webinar to repurpose, but we ended up rescheduling it, so rather than not doing a podcast this week, I thought I would record the answers to questions I get quite often.

In this discussion, I go into seven different areas of interest. Topics and time stamps are below. 

I hope you enjoy it! 

* 2:04 - My career path & how I mapped out my post-Facebook journey

* Lessons from Striking Out on My Own

* Mapping Out My Post Facebook Career

* Lori Brewer Collins: On Leading: Transformative Conversations

* 26:13 - Who I am outside of work

* Reclaim the Fairy Tale

* The Things We Whisper

* 32:16 - What I do and a typical day looks like for me

* 34:41 - How to get a job in tech

* 40:54 - My reading/news consumption habits

* 48:10 - Why I started my Substack and how I put it together each week

* 57:25 - What’s next

Watch this episode on YouTube.

As most of you know, I started working full-time as the Global Affairs Officer of Duco Experts in January. One of the things I like about the job is getting to work across the industry and seeing how companies tackle similar problems differently.

Thus, I thought it would be fun to bring the leadership team on the podcast to discuss some trends. Sidney Olinyk is the founder and CEO. Neema Basri is the Chief Operating Officer, and Scott Hoch is the Chief Technology Officer.

In this episode, Sidney and Scott talk a bit about the origins of Duco and some lessons learned from starting the business. Neema shares some of the work that we do and we all jump into sharing some trends we are seeing, our favorite productivity hacks and some hot take predictions for the future.

Anchor Change with Katie Harbath is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Sorry for the slight delay today. The tech gods were not being kind.

Watch this on YouTube!

NOTE: A lot of this summary and show notes were generated via a new AI tool by Riverside.fmIn this episode, Brian Fishman, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Cinder, discusses his background in studying terrorism and his work at Facebook. He shares insights on the early days of using the internet for research on terrorist organizations and the challenges of trust and safety in the tech industry. 

Brian also talks about the importance of pivoting in one's career and the trade-offs involved. He discusses the future of the tech industry, including the impact of AI and the role of regulation in trust and safety. The conversation covers various topics related to content moderation, media coverage, and the role of technology in society. 

The main themes include the challenges of content moderation, the difficulty of making decisions in the face of complex issues, the role of the media in shaping narratives, and the need for a more comprehensive understanding of technology's impact. The conversation also touches on the importance of capturing the wider ecosystem of communication platforms and actors involved in events like January 6th. 

We also discuss the potential for storytelling to shed light on the challenges of trust and safety in the tech industry.

Takeaways

* Brian Fishman has a background in studying terrorism and has worked on trust and safety issues at Facebook.

* The early days of using the internet for research on terrorist organizations provided valuable insights.

* Pivoting in one's career requires a mix of audacity and humility.

* The tech industry is facing challenges related to AI, synthetic content, and trust in institutions.

* Regulation will raise the floor for trust and safety expectations but may lower the ceiling. Content moderation is a complex and challenging task, regardless of whether it is done by private companies or regulators.

* The difficulty of making decisions in the face of complex issues remains even when responsibility is transferred from private companies to regulators.

* Media coverage plays a significant role in shaping narratives and public understanding of events.

* A comprehensive understanding of technology's impact requires considering the wider ecosystem of communication platforms and actors involved.

* Storytelling can be a powerful tool to explore the challenges of trust and safety in the tech industry.

Links

* Trust and Safety Tycoon Game

* How much mouse poop should be allowed in cereal boxes (a thought exercise that pertains to content moderation that we discuss and David Karpf wrote a piece about).

Show Notes

* Introduction and Background

* Early Internet Research on Terrorism

* Pivoting in a Career

* Challenges and Opportunities in the Tech Industry

* The Role of Regulation in Trust and Safety

* The Challenges of Content Moderation

* The Difficulty of Decision-Making

* The Role of Media in Shaping Narratives

* Understanding the Wider Ecosystem of Communication Platforms

* Storytelling and the Challenges of Trust and Safety

Anchor Change with Katie Harbath is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Kate Dommett, a professor of digital politics, discusses her book “Data-Driven Campaigning and Political Parties” and her research on how political parties use data in election campaigns. She explores the prevailing narratives around data-driven campaigning and how they often do not match reality. Dommett also discusses the role of regulation in data-driven campaigning and the potential threats to democracy. She emphasizes the need for a nuanced understanding of data use in campaigns and the importance of considering the regulatory environment and data security.

Takeaways

* Data-driven campaigning is not a new phenomenon, but the use of digital technology has disrupted traditional accountability systems.

* The regulatory environment and electoral systems vary across countries, leading to different practices in data-driven campaigning.

* Campaigns use data for targeting, mobilization, and message development, but the level of sophistication varies.

* The role of online platforms in data-driven campaigning raises questions about access, responsibility, and unintended consequences.

* Data security is a significant concern in data-driven campaigning, especially for smaller parties with limited resources.

* Academic research should draw on historical lessons and theory to provide a responsible and nuanced understanding of the impact of new technologies, such as AI, on elections.

Chapters

* Introduction and Background

* Types of Data and Decision-Making

* Role of Online Platforms in Data-Driven Campaigning

* Concerns and Challenges in Data-Driven Campaigning

* Responsible Research on New Technologies in Elections

Links

* Katharine Dommett, Glenn Kefford, and Simon Kruschinski, Data-Driven Campaigning and Political Parties

* Amy Orben, The Sisyphean Cycle of Technology Panics

* Fabio Votta at al.  Who Does(n't) Target You? Mapping the Worldwide Usage of Online Political Microtargeting 

ACK! I totally forgot to schedule this last night. So sorry for my delay.

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This week we welcome Nina Jankowicz to the podcast. She talks about the importance of recognizing Russia's use of disinformation as a geopolitical strategy and the need for more vocal online presence in countering disinformation. Nina also shares her observations of the impact of Russian disinformation during the 2016 US election from her vantage point in Ukraine. She discusses her research on disinformation in Central and Eastern Europe and the limits of counter disinformation programming.

Nina then talks about her role in the Disinformation Governance Board and the misconceptions and attacks it faced. She emphasizes the importance of balancing free speech and protecting the information environment, citing examples from Germany, Singapore, Ukraine, and Brazil. The conversation covers various topics related to disinformation, online harassment, and the American Sunlight Project (of which I’m an advisor). It highlights the global nature of disinformation and the interconnectedness of these issues. The conversation also explores the challenges faced by women online, including gendered and sexualized abuse.

The American Sunlight Project is introduced as a new initiative to combat disinformation and promote truth and transparency in the discourse. The importance of transparency and accountability in tech platforms and government is emphasized.

Takeaways

* Recognizing and addressing Russia's use of disinformation as a geopolitical strategy is crucial in countering disinformation.

* The impact of Russian disinformation during the 2016 US election was significant, and the hubris of the United States in responding to it was concerning.

* Counter-disinformation programming often faces challenges in balancing its goals with free speech considerations.

* The Disinformation Governance Board faced misconceptions and attacks, highlighting the need for clear communication and understanding of its purpose.

* Balancing free speech and protecting the information environment is complex, and different countries have approached it differently. Disinformation is not limited to foreign actors and is often based on pre-existing social fissures.

* Women face gendered and sexualized abuse online, which has a silencing effect.

* The American Sunlight Project aims to promote truth and transparency in the discourse and inform voters.

* Transparency and accountability are crucial in addressing disinformation and online harassment.

Key Links

* Wilson Center: Freedom and Fakes: A Comparative Exploration of Countering Disinformation and Protecting Free Expression

* MSNBC: New documents show how disinformation expert was unfairly tarred

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

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I’m so honored to have my good friend and expert extraordinaire Kat Duffy as my guest this week. I have no words other than you should listen to everything she says.

Summary

Kat Duffy, a senior fellow for digital and cyberspace policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses her work in the trust and safety space and her role in leading the Trust and Safety Task Force. The task force brought together a diverse group of experts to explore the evolving landscape of trust and safety, with a focus on the intersection of technology, human rights, and humanitarian law. The project aimed to map the ecosystem, capture insights, and provide concrete recommendations for philanthropies and private funding. The conversation also touches on the challenges of consensus-building and the importance of including voices from the global majority in these discussions. The conversation explores the concept of the global majority and its relevance in the tech industry. The term 'global majority' refers to individuals and countries that are not at the leading edge of revenue models or political interests. The discussion highlights the lack of cultural diversity and understanding in tech, as well as the challenges faced by countries with fragile political and economic systems. The conversation also touches on the impact of regulations on trust and safety efforts, the need for independent expertise in civil society, and the future implications of technology in societal governance.

Takeaways

* The Trust and Safety Task Force brought together a diverse group of experts to explore the evolving landscape of trust and safety. Read the report here.

* The task force aimed to map the ecosystem, capture insights, and provide concrete recommendations for philanthropies and private funding.

* Consensus-building in the trust and safety space can be challenging, but it's important to include multiple perspectives and create dialogue.

* Including voices from the global majority is crucial in shaping discussions and decisions in the trust and safety space. The term 'global majority' refers to individuals and countries that are not at the leading edge of revenue models or political interests in the tech industry.

* Tech often lacks cultural diversity and understanding, reflecting the perspectives of a small group of thinkers.

* Countries with fragile political and economic systems face unique challenges in the tech space.

* Regulations can divert resources from trust and safety efforts and hinder innovation.

* Independent expertise in civil society is crucial for effective governance and impact assessment.

* The future of technology requires a better understanding of its implications and the involvement of diverse perspectives.

Chapters

* Introduction and Background

* Trust and Safety in Different Contexts

* The Trust and Safety Task Force

* The Impact of Generative AI

* Creating Room for Entrepreneurship and New Approaches

* Adapting to the Fast-Paced Nature of the Trust and Safety Space

* Including Voices from the Global Majority

* Understanding the Global Majority

* Tech's Lack of Cultural Diversity

* Challenges in Fragile Systems

* Impact of Regulations on Trust and Safety

* The Need for Independent Expertise

* Future Implications of Technology

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This week Claire Wardle and Daniel Bramatti discuss their work in creating fact-checking coalitions around elections as a follow up to the guide we published back in April. They highlight the importance of collaboration and trust-building among news organizations and social media platforms. They also discuss the challenges they faced in handling misinformation during elections, such as dealing with blackouts and coordinating with tech companies. They emphasize the need for continuous adaptation and updating of strategies as bad actors evolve their tactics.

Overall, they highlight the progress made in building resilience and awareness among the public, but also acknowledge the ongoing challenges in combating misinformation. The conversation explores the challenges and strategies of fact-checking during elections, with a focus on the Comprova project in Brazil and the CrossCheck project in France. The guests discuss the importance of collaboration among news organizations, the role of technology and AI in fact-checking, and the need for media literacy to combat misinformation. They also address the business incentives and funding models for fact-checking, as well as the potential impact of AI-generated content on trust and democracy.

Takeaways

* Collaboration and trust-building among news organizations and social media platforms are crucial in creating effective fact-checking coalitions.

* Handling misinformation during elections requires continuous adaptation and updating of strategies as bad actors evolve their tactics.

* Building resilience and awareness among the public is essential in combating misinformation.

* Challenges in fact-checking include dealing with blackouts, coordinating with tech companies, and addressing less talked about disinformation tactics.

* Panic responsibly and avoid catastrophizing the issue of misinformation. Collaboration among news organizations is crucial for effective fact-checking during elections.

* Fact-checkers need to empower journalists in different countries to adapt and implement fact-checking strategies that work within their political and media systems.

* Fact-checking on encrypted platforms like WhatsApp requires innovative approaches, such as creating tip lines for users to submit content for fact-checking.

* The decision of what to fact-check should be based on the potential harm the misinformation can cause, with a focus on content that can affect public health or democracy.

* News organizations need to balance the business incentives of fact-checking with the responsibility to provide accurate information and build trust with the audience.

* AI-generated content poses new challenges for fact-checkers, and there is a need to educate the public about the tactics and techniques used to create and spread misinformation.

* Preparing for elections and other major events requires proactive fact-checking and spreading good information to prevent the spread of misinformation.

* Building resilience in societies and fostering collaboration among fact-checkers, researchers, and technology experts is essential to combat misinformation and maintain trust in democratic processes.

Chapters

* Introductions

* Creating Fact-Checking Coalitions

* Structure and Methodology of Fact-Checking Coalitions

* Trust-Building with Social Media Platforms

* Handling Misinformation During Elections

* Challenges in Brazil's Elections

* Changes and Evolutions in the Field of Fact-Checking

* Addressing Less Talked About Disinformation Tactics

* Building Collaborations and Empowering Journalists

* The Role of Users in Fact-Checking

* Prioritizing Fact-Checking Based on Harm

* Pre-Bunking and Proactive Fact-Checking

* Educating the Public about Misinformation Tactics

* Building Resilience and Collaboration

Don’t forget to follow us on YouTube!

This is the last episode of season 2! Thank you all for listening. I’ll be taking a break over the summer and returning with season 3 in the Fall. Between now and then, I might be planning a few summer spectacular episodes, so keep your eyes out.

I couldn’t have asked for a better person to end the season with. Renee DiResta joins me this week to discuss her background and journey into researching the anti-vaccine movement, the impact of social media on public opinion, and the concept of 'invisible rulers' in her book 'Invisible Rulers.’ She also explores the role of influencers in shaping public opinion and the ethical considerations of platform algorithms in content distribution. She delves into the challenges of researching algorithms, the evolution of content control on platforms, and the politicization of her work. Additionally, she shares insights on the importance of engaging in the face of misinformation and the shaping of public opinion.

Takeaways

* Renee's background spans various roles, leading to her involvement in researching the anti-vaccine movement.

* The impact of social media on public opinion and the lack of counter speech and narrative is a significant concern.

* The concept of 'invisible rulers' and the role of influencers in shaping public opinion is explored in her book 'Invisible Rulers'.

* Ethical considerations of platform algorithms in content distribution, particularly the distinction between free speech and free reach, are important to address.

* Challenges of researching algorithms and content control on platforms

* The politicization of research work and the importance of engaging in the face of misinformation

* Insights on the shaping of public opinion and the impact of algorithms on society

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting to do my first Summer Spectacular episode quite this quickly. However, when Saurabh Shukla with NewsMobile pinged me on WhatsApp to offer to talk about what had happened in the Indian election, I jumped at the chance. I then saw former Integrity Institute resident fellow Alexis Crews post about her work in the EU, and I knew I had to include her as well.

In our conversation, we discuss the role of social media and digital platforms in the elections, the use of AI for misinformation and disinformation, the impact of WhatsApp as a messaging app, and the use of influencers in campaigns. We also talk about the lessons learned from the EU elections and the recommendations for tech companies in mitigating disinformation.

I hope you enjoy!

Anchor Change with Katie Harbath is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Ahead of TrustCon next week, I wanted to bring you a conversation I’ve been trying to set up since Duco released the Trust and Safety Market Research Report in March.

Guests, investors Lauren Wagner and Shu Dar Yao, join me to discuss their involvement in the report and the reasons behind it. They highlight key takeaways from the report, such as the unbundling of the tech stack in trust and safety and the impact of regulations and talent outflow. The conversation also touched on the trends in the trust and safety field, the challenges faced by startups, and the different perspectives on trust and safety among investors. They share advice for trust and safety professionals and discuss the future of the field and the need for more research and tools to support startups and investors.

Enjoy!

Lauren Wagner and Shu Dar Yao

I’ve got another special episode of the Summer Spectacular podcast for you with my good friend Emi Kolawole. Emi has 10 years of experience in communications, design, and tech. In our conversation, she shares her insights from attending the Aspen Ideas Festival and the Socrates program.

She highlights the importance of including diverse voices, particularly women and minorities, in the conversations around artificial intelligence (AI) and technology. Emi also discusses the need for more intentional and inclusive panels and events in the tech industry. She expresses optimism about the future of technology and the emergence of new voices and perspectives.

Emi and I also discuss our interest in tarot as a tool for self-investigation and personal growth. We both gush about Rebecca Auman, who has helped us on our journeys. Check out her podcast, Voices in the River, on which Emi and I were guests. She encourages women to believe in themselves and follow their talents when entering the tech industry.

Enjoy!

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We’re back! Welcome to season three of Impossible Tradeoffs. This season will focus mainly on the U.S. election, how the campaigns use tech, how tech companies respond, and what people outside the United States are watching.

First up is Paolo Carozza, a member of the Meta Oversight Board and law professor at Notre Dame. Earlier this week, the Oversight Board released a report on using AI in content moderation.

In this conversation, we discuss the complexities of content moderation, particularly in the context of AI and human rights. Carozza shares insights from his experience on the Oversight Board, emphasizing the importance of balancing operational feasibility with principled human rights considerations. They explore the challenges of scale in content moderation, the need for effective recommendations, and the role of transparency and accountability in the board's work. The discussion also delves into the findings from a recent report on AI's impact on content moderation, the difficulties of understanding context, and the board's approach to handling controversial cases.

Here are some of the key moments:

* Introduction to Paolo Carozza and the Oversight Board

* Challenges of Scale in Content Moderation

* Balancing Human Rights and Operational Feasibility

* Implementing Effective Recommendations

* Navigating Transparency and Accountability

* Findings from the AI Report

* Understanding Context in Content Moderation

* The Evolution of Trust and Safety Practices

* Expedited Decisions in Urgent Contexts

* Handling Controversial Cases and Public Reactions

During the conversation, I mentioned how I wrote a piece about how to write effective recommendations for tech companies based on things the Oversight Board learned. You can find that here.

Enjoy!

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

Good morning. Due to some scheduling changes, I don’t have a podcast for this week. Thank you for understanding.

If you are new to the pod, I recommend you check out the archives. Some of the more popular episodes include:

* A conversation with Renee DiResta about her book Invisible Rulers

* Dave Willner on the evolution of trust and safety in tech - and use of AI for content moderation

* Yoel Roth on making hard tradeoffs and the future of trust and safety

Have a great day and thank you for understanding!

We’re back! Thanks again to everyone for your understanding of my gap week.

In this episode, Amanda Elliott and Kyle Tharp, both newsletter writers focused on digital politics, discuss their experiences and insights into the evolving landscape of political campaigning. They explore the impact of digital strategies, fundraising, and the role of social media platforms like TikTok in reaching voters. The discussion also touches on the differences in approach between the Republican and Democratic parties, the influence of AI, and the future of digital politics as the 2024 election approaches.

Amanda’s newsletter is called Doomscroll, and Kyle’s is FWIW. I highly recommend both of them!

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

Welcome to fellow newsletter writer, Bruce Mehlman who has long been a fixture in DC for his smart graphs and quarterly reports on where the trends are going, not just in politics but also in the economy, tech, national security, and more. I highly recommend you sign up for his newsletter, Bruce Mehlman's Age of Disruption.

In our conversation, Bruce discusses his journey from a political lawyer to a prominent figure in tech policy, sharing insights on the evolution of technology and its intersection with politics. He reflects on the early 2000s tech issues, the lessons learned from the rise of social media, and the current political landscape. Mehlman emphasizes the importance of trust in information, the future of media consumption, and the need for long-term thinking in politics and technology. He also highlights the significant advancements in health innovations and their potential impact on society.

Some of the readings he recommends include:

* The Storm Before the Calm: America's Discord, the Coming Crisis of the 2020s, and the Triumph Beyond by George Friedman

* Stratechery by Ben Thompson

* Noahpinion

* Slow Boring by Matthew Yglesias

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

I’m excited to welcome Allie Funk, Grant Baker, and Kian Vesteinsson of Freedom House’s technology and democracy team to the podcast, who released their 2024 Freedom on the Net report this week. Our conversation revolves around the latest Freedom on the Net report, highlighting the ongoing decline of global internet freedom for the 14th consecutive year. We cover various factors contributing to this decline, including censorship, violence against online activists, and the impact of AI on elections. The speakers also provide insights into specific countries like Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar and share positive examples from South Africa, Taiwan, and the EU. The conversation concludes with policy recommendations to improve the information environment and protect online freedoms.

Freedom House’s reports are ones I look for every year to get a sense of how the internet and technology are impacting democracy. They’re a must-read, and our conversation will help give you more context into what is happening and how we might improve things.

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

I’ve been so lucky to have some great conversations for the podcast this Fall, but with Election Day rapidly approaching in the United States, I will do two bonus Monday episodes on top of the usual ones on Thursdays to get all of this content out.

First, we have Betsy Hoover and Eric Wilson discuss with me the evolving landscape of campaign technology, highlighting the importance of tailored solutions for political campaigns. They share their journeys into the field, the diverse range of companies they support, and the trends shaping the future of political tech, including the integration of AI. Both emphasize the need for aspiring tech founders to understand the unique challenges of the political landscape and offer insights into the future of campaign technology.

Links

* Eric Wilson’s Campaign Trend newsletter

* Higher Ground Labs

Anchor Change with Katie Harbath is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

In this episode, Tim Harper discusses his extensive background in election administration and technology, focusing on the intersection of democracy and technology. He elaborates on his work with the Bipartisan Policy Center's task force aimed at improving election processes, as well as his current role at the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), where he addresses the challenges posed by generative AI in elections. (You can find all of CDT’s reports on elections here.) Tim shares insights from a recent report on AI chatbots and their impact on voting accessibility, highlighting the risks of misinformation and the need for better policies from tech companies. He also reflects on his experience at Facebook, where he managed political advertising policy during a tumultuous election period. In this conversation, Tim Harper discusses the complexities of managing online platforms during elections, focusing on policy development, crisis response, and the impact of generative AI. He highlights the challenges faced by tech companies in combating misinformation and ensuring election integrity, while also addressing the need for better communication and coordination among stakeholders. The discussion emphasizes the importance of preparation for both election day and the critical period following it, where misinformation and potential political violence could arise.

Anchor Change with Katie Harbath is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

We have another bonus podcast episode for you. One perspective I wanted to get for this season of the podcast is what people outside of the United States think about the election and this country’s overall approach to tech.

There’s no one better to ask that question of than Mark Scott. Mark has covered tech as a journalist and now works at the Atlantic Council studying tech’s impact on our information ecosystem. He also writes a weekly newsletter called Digital Politics that is one of my must-reads.

In this conversation, Mark discusses his transition from journalism to a policy role at the Atlantic Council, focusing on digital policy and regulation in the EU and US. He reflects on the regulatory landscape, the challenges tech companies face, and the importance of effective enforcement. He also shares insights on the role of technology in elections, the impact of AI, and the need for cooperation between the US and Europe in addressing digital challenges.

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

Twenty years ago, Wired editor Chris Anderson wrote “The Long Tail” - a story about how “the future of entertainment is in the millions of niche markets at the shallow end of the bitstream.” Also, twenty years ago, the term “podcasting” was coined thanks to the introduction of the iPod and RSS feeds that could carry audio files.

Today, in these final days before the election, we can confidently say that this prediction has become a reality—not just for entertainment but also for news and politics.

I’ve been pondering this newsletter for a while, and Chris’s piece popped into my mind as I was thinking about how 2024 is being called the TikTok/Influencer/Podcast/Clipping/Shards of Glass election. What these all have in common is the theme that our information environment is more fractured than ever before, and influencers/creators across numerous platforms have proven their power to reach voters. I won’t be shocked if, for the 2028 cycle, we have a candidate announce for president on a podcast (DeSantis did technically announce on Twitter spaces, but that’s different.)

Ben Thompson makes this point in his excellent column from Monday, “I think, though, that the ability to hold one’s own on a podcast is, in the long run, going to be a greater selection effect for President than people might expect.”

The ground is shifting beneath our feet and will continue to do so as we increasingly use artificial intelligence to help us create and curate the information we consume.

I will have much more to say on this as I try to figure out how to recap these last two years. Since January 2020, I’ve been talking about this historic year of elections around the globe, and it is almost over. The amount we’ve all gone through during this time is massive—and it’s only accelerating.

Anchor Change with Katie Harbath is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

With only a week left until Election Day, I wanted to share five things to remember as we enter this new phase.

* The information environment is shifting, which presents an excellent opportunity to shape this new reality. I’ve talked to a few folks wondering if their work since 2016 has been for naught because of the amount of disinformation online. It most certainly has not, but this work will need to change. I’m excited about digging into this new ecosystem and how we can mold how it evolves. What strikes me in re-reading Chris’ article 20 years later is that we can predict where things will go; it just takes us a long time for the technology and people to adapt, to accept the new reality, and to grieve the loss of the old one. Where we are today will not be where we will be in four years, as AI will do much more to curate the information we consume. We know this will happen, just not exactly how. That presents a lot of opportunity to start helping shape the future we want. Just look at this paper about how AI is helping to prebunk election misinformation.

* A side thing to watch here is where people go to follow along as results start to come in. Cable channels usually shine here, but Amazon is doing its own Election Night special, as are TikTok users like V Spehar from Under the Desk News. Will people go there instead?

* The tech CEO election. A side story of this election will inevitably be the role of the tech CEO. From Zuckerberg trying to pull back on politics and news to Elon leaning in and Bezos killing the Washington Post editorial, these CEOs are now political players whether they want it or not. Podcasting and newsletter platforms - and thus their CEOs - will become more critical. These CEOs are not the enemy, nor will they save us, but we must work with them - and hold them accountable. We can lament that they operate first and foremost as a business, or we can accept that and figure out how to impact them through those incentives.

* AI isn’t as bad as feared, but this is just the start. I’m very nervous that people are going to take away from this election that AI isn’t as bad as we thought and then drop the ball going into 2026 and 2028. We need to have less fear around AI overall, but this is only the beginning of its entry into our political sphere. Over the next four years, this is another area of great opportunity to shape what these guardrails should be for how campaigns use these tools to communicate with voters.

* Panic responsibly. This is the time I created this phrase for. Anxiety, nerves, and tension are getting very high. It doesn’t help when you feel like all you can do is sit and wait. Take care of yourself. Touch grass. Drink water. Just keep in mind that now is a nerve-wracking time, and that might impact how you are reacting to things. It will be okay. We will get through this. The merch store is here if you need a t-shirt, sticker, or wine glass to remind you of this.

* Vote. The number one thing you need to do is vote. I don’t care if it is absentee, early, or in-person. Visit turbovote.org for all the information you need on how to do this. I got my vote in via absentee. Ensure you are also up to speed on how votes are counted and certified, as there will likely be a lot of chaos and confusion around that. You can also watch this webinar I did this week with the Aspen Institute and other experts discussing the post-election time frame.

I’m going into this final week nervous but excited. I’m anxious about what a tight election will do to us as a collective. I’m excited because I can already think of many projects I want to work on to shape this new information environment. There’s a lot of opportunity in chaos if you know how to harness it. 

But we’ll have time for that later. For now, vote, tell your friends and family to vote, and take care of yourselves. And for those working on elections, whether as an official, poll worker, tech employee, journalist, researcher, campaigner, or volunteer - don’t forget, you got this.

Side note: It’s not good I’m making this a side note, but one of the things I feared would happen with the U.S. election is that it would suck all of the attention away from other global elections happening at the same time. Admittedly, I’ve fallen into that trap, but keep an eye on what is happening in Japan and the country of Georgia after their elections this past weekend. Both are seeing unrest and shock by results. There were also elections in Kiribati (an island in the South Pacific), Bulgaria and Uruguay (which is headed to a second round). Moldova’s recent election on a referendum to join the EU was also a nail-biter. All of this is to say, while there’s a lot happening here we also need to keep an eye on the globe as a whole.

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics. 

In this episode, I welcome Maria Giannopoulos who shares her unique journey at the intersection of politics and technology, particularly her role in the 2024 Republican National Convention. She discusses the extensive planning involved in organizing such a large-scale event, developing a digital strategy to engage both on-site attendees and online audiences, and the increasing importance of influencers in political campaigns. Maria also reflects on her experience at Google, the cautious approach tech companies take towards elections, and her insights on future trends in digital politics, including the potential impact of AI and AR/VR technologies.

Maria is known as @greekmaria on various social media platforms and you can also find her at Greekmaria.com.

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

In this episode, Nicole Schneidman discusses the critical processes involved in the electoral system, emphasizing the importance of understanding what happens after voting. She outlines key dates in the election cycle, changes in election laws since 2020, and the journey of a ballot from submission to certification. The discussion also highlights the increased scrutiny and risks faced by election officials, as well as the role of courts in ensuring fair election practices. Nicole discusses the critical aspects of ensuring voter access and election integrity, the role of courts in addressing misinformation and legal challenges, and the importance of monitoring threats and harassment during elections. She explains the distinctions between election officials, poll workers, and poll watchers, and emphasizes the need for tech companies to prepare for the election process. The conversation also delves into the challenges of content moderation in the context of election-related information and concludes with a call for calm and trust in the electoral process.

You can learn more about this period in this post Nicole and I wrote.

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Image created by ChatGPT

If I’m honest, I’m still processing everything. I’m giving myself and others the space to process everything.

But, I still wanted to do a podcast. I have this deep fear that if I don’t stick to a schedule, I’ll fall off the wagon of creating content. It's probably not true, but I like to keep doing things to move forward. Since I had no idea where we would be as a country today, I decided to conduct an experiment I’ve wanted to do for a while for this week’s podcast.

Back in October, Google’s Notebook LLM tool, which uses AI to generate podcasts, went viral because of its quality. I decided to upload my six most popular Anchor Change posts from the last two years and ask it to create a podcast acknowledging that we were two days after Election Day and to look at how technology had impacted our information environment.

Here are the top posts:

* Platforms run away from politics and news / July 9, 2023

* The Future of our Information Environment / Oct 9, 2024

* Zuck’s Letter to Jordan and the Telegram CEO Arrest / Aug 28, 2024

* Digging Into Ten Overused Tech Tropes / Apr 3, 2024

* Our World in 2025 / Jan 3, 2024

* Cambridge Analytica Five Years Later / March 16, 2023

It’s a pretty interesting conversation between the two AI hosts and not too bad. I wish I could have given a longer prompt about what I wanted them to focus on and in what order, but for a first go I’m excited at this possibility to repurpose content in other formats.

Enjoy!

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This week on the podcast, I chatted with Rebekah Park, Vishnupriya Das, Devika Kumar, and Laura Murray, researchers at Gemic, a global growth strategy firm. They worked with Nhu Le, Rachel Xu, and Beth Goldberg from Google’s Jigsaw on a study looking at how young people in India and the US trust online content in the age of generative AI.

I wrote about this study back in October and have been quoting it nonstop to people exploring how the information environment has changed, especially in the context of the election.

The team comprised anthropologists and strategists and the conversation delves into the origins of their research, the importance of understanding the social dynamics of information, and the unique approach they took in studying Gen Z's interaction with technology, particularly in the context of a two-country study involving the US and India.

The team emphasizes the significance of qualitative research and the intimate understanding it provides in exploring how individuals navigate the digital landscape. The conversation delves into the research methodology and findings of a study on online behavior, focusing on the qualitative aspects of user engagement and the emotional dynamics that influence trust in information. The participants' experiences reveal a complex interplay between light and heavy content consumption, highlighting the importance of feelings in shaping online interactions. The discussion emphasizes the need for a nuanced understanding of how people navigate information in a digital landscape, particularly in the context of misinformation and trust.

I highly recommend you look at the seven information modes that emerged from their work and consider how people want to get heavy information, such as politics and news, versus more lighthearted stuff. I think this research is essential for professionals looking to get information out into the world and those who are trying to shape the online information environment.

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Happy Thanksgiving! I decided to release an episode today because I figured people would want something to listen to while prepping the turkey or driving to see family and friends.

I also know that Thanksgiving and the holidays can be a time when tough conversations arise, especially after an election. That’s why I wanted to talk to Lori Brewer Collins.

Lori is an executive coach. She and I met after the 2016 election when she created a program called Cultivate the Karass to help people across the political spectrum develop relationships with people on the other side of the aisle. I knew Lori’s son Jake before he died in 2015, and the idea for this came from a post-it note he had on his computer in the White House.

Lori is a master at creating spaces for people to feel heard. In this conversation, she discusses her work in leadership development and the importance of fostering connections across ideological divides. She emphasizes the significance of building trust, creating safe spaces for dialogue, and the art of deep listening. The discussion also highlights the role of vulnerability, curiosity, and inquiry in facilitating meaningful conversations and understanding among diverse groups.

We explore the complexities of facilitating difficult conversations, particularly around race and political differences. We also discuss the emotional exhaustion following elections, the importance of understanding diverse perspectives, and strategies for navigating family discussions with grace and kindness. Lori emphasizes the need for curiosity, intentionality, and the power of listening in fostering meaningful connections amidst differing viewpoints.

I hope you enjoy our conversation. Thank you so much for listening to and supporting this work. It means the world to me.

Anchor Change with Katie Harbath is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

I’m grateful this week that Aaron Rodericks, Vice President of Trust and Safety at Bluesky, made the time to join me for a conversation about how the platform is tackling the surge in users it’s seen in the U.S. since the election. This isn’t the first time they’ve seen such growth spurts—another happened in Brazil when X was briefly banned. These rapid user increases bring unique challenges to moderating content and require some impossible tradeoffs.

Aaron talks about the different approaches Bluesky takes to content moderation, the unique aspects of the platform, its decentralized nature, and the challenges of scaling operations amidst rapid user growth. Aaron shares insights on content moderation, the balance between automation and human oversight, and the evolving policies to address emerging harms. The discussion also touches on user control, verification processes, and the future compliance and product development roadmap.

To learn more about Bluesky’s approach, read Mike Masnik’s piece Protocols, Not Platforms: A Technological Approach to Free Speech.

Also, here is an interview Wired did with CEO Jay Graber this week, as the platform crosses 24 million users.

Please support the curation and analysis I’m doing with this newsletter. As a paid subscriber, you make it possible for me to bring you in-depth analyses of the most pressing issues in tech and politics.

This week I had the honor of moderating a fireside chat with NPR CEO Katherine Maher and C-SPAN CEO Sam Feist at the National Conference on Citizenship’s annual conference. We were able to record it to bring to you on this podcast.

Katherine and Sam both took on these roles this year, and some of the things we discuss include:

* Reflections on the evolving role of civic media in an increasingly polarized society.

* How NPR and C-SPAN approach trust-building and transparency in today’s media landscape.

* The importance of local news and its impact on civic engagement, voter turnout, and community resilience.

* Insights into the challenges of adapting to digital platforms while preserving core missions. Fast Company just named C-SPAN a Brands That Matter honoree for its ability to turn government coverage into TikTok-ready entertainment.

* The role of artificial intelligence in improving media accessibility and efficiency while maintaining editorial integrity.

* Discussion on addressing ideological diversity in newsrooms and ensuring balanced coverage.

* Key takeaways on fostering civil conversations and bridging divides in American politics.

I hope you enjoy!

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For my last podcast of season three and 2024, I’m thrilled to welcome Ravi Agrawal, the Editor-in-Chief of Foreign Policy magazine, to reflect on this historic year of elections.

We discussed the significant trends and observations from the 2024 elections globally during our conversation. He highlights the challenges incumbents faced, the role of cybersecurity and AI in elections, and the geopolitical implications of these electoral outcomes. The discussion also delves into the future of Indian politics, the impact of technology on global relations, and the evolving media landscape.

Thank you all for listening this season. I’ll be back in 2025! I’ve got many things planned, including turning this into a video podcast, so stay tuned.

Anchor Change with Katie Harbath is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

In this episode of Impossible Trade-Offs, Katie Harbath and Mike Rognlien discuss the evolution of corporate culture at Facebook, particularly focusing on race and gender bias training. They explore the significance of learning and development initiatives, the impact of recent changes at Meta, and the challenges of navigating political perspectives within the workplace. The conversation delves into the importance of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs and the role of unconscious bias training in fostering a more inclusive corporate environment. In this conversation, Mike Rognlien discusses the evolution and importance of unconscious bias training, the challenges of navigating ideological diversity within DEI efforts, and the need for curiosity and respect in discussions about diversity and inclusion. He emphasizes the significance of creating inclusive environments and the ongoing necessity of DEI work, even as corporate attitudes shift. The conversation highlights the importance of emotional intelligence and the need for organizations to adapt their training approaches to foster meaningful dialogue and understanding.