Propaganda in the age of Trump

Propaganda has a long history, going back to P.T. Barnum and crowd psychologist Gustave Le Bon. But it can be tricky to recognize – especially today, when social media has given everyone a megaphone. Certainly, President Trump uses Twitter as a way to speak directly to the people – without gatekeepers or a public relations team keeping watch.

White supremacy groups are also taking advantage of the new world and getting increasingly bold. The Anti-Defamation League says recruiting propaganda from racist groups increased 182 percent in 2018.

Monday, Kerri Miller spoke with two experts – one who studies propaganda and how it’s used, and another who says the best way to fight white supremist propaganda is to face it head-on.

Guests:

• Tim Wise, essayist about race and educator and the host of the podcast “Speak Out with Tim Wise”

• Cory Wimberly, professor of philosophy at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley with a particular interest in propaganda

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

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