So I was listening to Fresh Air this afternoon. I heard a fascinating discussion of the breadth of the Russian troll farming that plagues us today. It has been brewing for a long, long time. It brings to mind the proverb about planning for the future by planting trees. The interviewee is Adam Ellick who recently produced and released three videos from the New York Times about the rise of Fake News.
Adam Ellick, welcome to FRESH AIR. So I want to start with the conspiracy theory about the AIDS virus. And you track how this originates with Russian fake news, with Russian disinformation. So just describe the conspiracy theory for those people who don't remember it.
The conspiracy theory at question here is one propagated by the KGB in the world press that the US created the AIDS virus at Ft Dietrick, MD. They called it Operation Infektion. Of course it’s not hard for African Americans to believe in the possibility of this being true given the Tuskeegee experiments, Henrietta Lacks, COINTELPRO, Jim Crow, slavery … Hell, there isn’t much I wouldn’t believe about this government mistreating African Americans.
Anyway, the videos describe how the KGB put the plan into action. I highly recommend listening to the interview and watching the videos. The really interesting thing to me, though, was the idea that the troll farms of 2016 had their genesis in the 1980s. And we all know that Putin is Putin as well as how truly devious he really is.
So we've been talking about conspiracy theories and fake news that have been spread by Russia and have caught on in the U.S. But as you point out in your series of videos, we're starting our own fake news now, and it's catching on quite well. President Trump has frequently described the media as, like, bad people, the enemy of the people. And he revoked Jim Acosta's White House pass, his White House press credentials. And CNN is now suing because of that.
There follows a nice little discussion of Acosta. The laughable excuse that sped up film is “commonplace in sports” was appropriately laughed at.
So of all the things Eastern European countries are doing now to combat Russian disinformation, what's one of the most effective things you think they've tried?
ELLICK: I mean, they're the stars when it comes to countering Russian disinformation. There's an example in our film which is just so powerful. I think on Sunday night, in Latvia on the most popular TV channel, there is a show that's basically "This Week In Russian Lies."
And they reveal and debunk all of the most popular lies that the Kremlin disseminated that week. This is in a prime-time slot on Sunday night. It's basically the same time when, in America, we're watching "The Bachelorette" or "The Voice" or one of these popular reality shows.
And here’s a cool little nugget. Estonia has what Ellis describes as a National Guard of cyber truth seekers. The volunteer force monitors the bullshit and helps the populace see the forest and the fake trees. Neat, huh?
Anyway, I found this discussion illuminating and wanted to share it with you.