Can disinformation really take down a democracy from the inside? This week’s guest, Barbara McQuade, thinks so — and she’s here to show us exactly how it’s happening and what we can do about it.
Barbara is a former U.S. Attorney, a law professor, an MSNBC legal analyst and the author of Attack From Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America, now out in paperback.
We begin with breaking news that could directly affect our political landscape. A big chunk of the MAGA faithful are suddenly side-eyeing Trump over his failure to drop the long-promised Epstein file (does the public have a right to see it? Barbara has thoughts). She breaks down how our American system relies on the good faith of three branches — and what happens when any one of them stops playing by the rules.
Barbara explains the Squid Strategy: imagine a squid firing ink at a predator to obfuscate and slip away: that’s Trump making wild statements to change the subject when the heat is on. We talk about the liar’s dividend, that neat trick where so much fake news is swirling that important facts get waved away.
She pulls back the curtain on how Trump built the coalition that resulted in the Big Harmful Bill. It consists of: a working-class MAGA base, the evangelical right, and billionaires. Trump does the bidding of big business while kissing up to Christian Extremists and feeding his base conspiracy theories that keep them eating their rage right out of his hand.
Barbara does find hope in history: other countries have seen strongmen rise and fall when the promises ran dry and the citizens remained vigilant. She gives us her best advice for cracking Trump’s hold on friends and family (it involves empathetic listening, not doomscrolling).
We also get into Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — mend it, don’t end it — and why unregulated social media is the Wild West. We talk spon-con, paywalls, knowledge gaps, and how your news feed might be failing you.
A cautionary tale, a civics lesson, and a pep talk all rolled into one, strap in, there’s still time to fight the ink cloud!
In recommendations--
Weezy: The series Outrageous on Britbox
Fritz: Apple TV+ Documentary, Bono: Stories of Surrender
Path Points of Interest:
Attack From Within by Barbara McQuade
Sisters-In-Law Podcast
with Barbara McQuade, Jill Wine Banks, Joyce Vance and Kimberly Atkins Stohr
Bono: Stories of Surrender on Apple TV+