In a digital world populated with bad actors, Steven Brill stands out as one of the good guys.
Brill is well-known in media circles. Journalist. Entrepreneur. Best-selling author. Dubbed by one news outlet as “an expert in fact versus fiction.”
These days find him on the front lines of countering the toxic byproducts of social media, artificial intelligence and online purveyors of disinformation.
Brill is co-founder of NewsGuard, which reviews and rates news websites for their credibility and transparency, and author of The Death of Truth, which chronicles, in the words of the book’s subtitle, “How Social Media and the Internet Gave Snake Oil Salesmen and Demagogues the Weapons They Needed to Destroy Trust and Polarize the World.”
Famed investigative reporter Bob Woodward praised the book as “A seminal, ground-breaking, documented and honest examination of two of the central dilemmas of our time—what is truth and where to find it.”
Brill will headline an event at 7 p.m. on Oct. 22 hosted by Investigative Post at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave., adjacent to Buffalo State University. Tickets are $10 and available for purchase online at this link.
“I’m very excited to have someone of Brill’s stature headlining one of our events,” said Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney, who will moderate the discussion. “His book is eye-opening, as will be his presentation.”
Brill will discuss the key findings of his book, while NewsGuard’s Sofia Rubinson, a senior editor, will detail how NewsGuard goes about rating online news outlets for credibility and accuracy.
The presentation will also include a demonstration of NewsGuard AI, a new online service that produces reader-customized stories drawn from outlets deemed credible sources of news and information.
Brill’s presentation will consider how:
- An amendment in the federal communications law enabled digital publishers to avoid responsibility for content on their platforms.
- The business model of social media platforms encouraged polarization and split Americans apart on everything from vaccine safety to election integrity to belief in basic science.
- The digital advertising ecosystem results in big consumer brands inadvertently financing Russian propaganda, healthcare frauds and election hoaxes.
- Platforms such as Google and Facebook have thwarted efforts to police bad actors.
- Artificial intelligence has become a force multiplier spreading disinformation, polarization and alienation.
- Citizens and news consumers can counter digital pollution, from identifying misinformation and deepfakes to demanding policy changes to reverse the deterioration of trust and truth.
Rubinson’s portion of the presentation will name names of news outlets that have earned especially good or bad ratings, including those based in the Buffalo area. (Spoiler alert: NewsGuard gave Investigative Post a perfect score of 100, characterizing our reporting as “fact based” and offering “balanced perspectives.”)
Copies of The Death of Truth will be available for sale on site by Fitz Books.
