I make critical thinkers and write books. #WeAreAltGov book: bit.ly/AltGovRowman Detecting Deception book: bit.ly/DDRowman The Unspun Podcast
Elon University
Joined June 2011
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Coming Sept. 18: My new #UnspunPodcast helps you spot media manipulation and spin, because YOU deserve the truth.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
Prof. Amanda Sturgill retweeted
The next world war is already here and you may be a casualty.
It’s fought through headlines, hashtags, and deepfakes.
Check out this week's Unspun podcast on hybrid war, here or where you pod. bit.ly/UnSpunPod
What could go wrong? Since everyone is so good at detecting misinformation...
nytimes.com/interactive/2025…
Two things can be bad at the same time.
Person R says mean things. Dad.
Person D says mean things. Also bad.
If D's friend criticizes R, are they a hypocrite? Sure.
Does it make R's statements less bad? Nope.
Because two things can be bad at once.
Prof. Amanda Sturgill retweeted
On #NewsEngagementDay – TODAY, Oct. 7 – we encourage everyone to read, watch, like, post, listen to, or comment on news, and learn news reporting principles.
Here are a few words from #ElonComm faculty about why they value news and journalism!
@DrSturg @TKennG
Prof. Amanda Sturgill retweeted
ICYMI: #Unspun podcast with Prof. Amanda Sturgill @DrSturg. #MSWMedia
Listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
Prof. Amanda Sturgill retweeted
Coming Sept. 18: My new #UnspunPodcast helps you spot media manipulation and spin, because YOU deserve the truth.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 1A, USA
If you are fact checking with G r o k to be edgy and cool, please consider not doing that.
LLMs are not search engines and not oracles either.
Environment is not a certainty of product.
I can spend time in a garage. That does not make me a car.
4/ This is an older clip, but I found it quite impactful in explaining some of how this works.
Be careful out there.
piped.video/watch?v=OauLuWXD…
3/ For folks holding out here, I imagine you know it's quite a lot. Good research has shown that few accounts create most fake news, which suggests coordinated efforts. Governments influencing the information stream for enemies is a old strategy and social media makes it easy.
2/ It is quite tough to get accurate estimates on the % of content on social media that's fake, because the pool of info constantly shifts. It's like measuring the level of a stream - I can give you an average number over time, but that might not tell you about individual floods.
Both halves of this headline are important, but as a U.S. social media user, the second is particularly interesting to me. [GIFT LINK] nytimes.com/2025/09/07/busin…
Prof. Amanda Sturgill retweeted
New #Unspun podcast with Prof. Amanda Sturgill @DrSturg #MSWMedia
Listen: redcircle.com/shows/56c05004…
3/ They also don't know and care for your business like your staff does. They're great for creative ideas, but are likely to get small details (and sometimes big facts) wrong. You can lose clients or have legal issues.
Put them on a team, sure, but don't hand them the keys.
2/ I love my students, but while they're good at editing on a phone, they're not good at judgment. We work hard at this at the university, but most 18-22 year olds don't have enough experience with the world to understand organizations and audiences. They'll embarrass you.
I'm a communication professor. It is COMMON for our students to get internships where they essentially do all the social media for an organization. This is a terrible idea.
Saw a person publish a truly uninformed take about grammar with a grammatical error in it and did not engage. Please clap.
⚠️ You didn’t change sides, you just asked a question.
Next? You’re out.
Ideological purity tests keep you silent, distracted and ineffective.
This week on #UnSpun, I dig into wedge issues, power and what we can do.
🎧 Listen here or where you pod bit.ly/UnSpunPod
