A recent report from the Pew Research Center finds that 1 in 5 Americans get their news from influencers. On this week’s On the Media, YouTuber and science communicator Hank Green explains how he makes the truth go viral. Plus, hear how tech billionaires plan to escape the end of the world.

[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Renée DiResta, researcher studying online manipulation and professor at Georgetown University, about what the data tells us about how news consumption is changing. Plus, how news influencers are rewriting the power dynamics of media.

[17:04] Host Micah Loewinger interviews science communicator, YouTuber, and entrepreneur Hank Green about how he makes the truth go viral, how he connects with his audience of many millions, and how he chooses what topics to cover.

[33:44] Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Douglas Rushkoff, whose many books probe the practice and philosophy of digital technology, about whether the apocalypse survival fantasies of tech billionaires are actually viable.

Further reading/listening/watching:

• Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality, by Renée DiResta
• “Everyone Was Wrong About Avocados - Including Us,” by SciShow
• “Why do Cars Suddenly Look Like Putty??” by Hank Green
• Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires, by Douglas Rushkoff

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

In the run up to the election Donald Trump was doggedly pursuing the votes of young men. He courted them, as we described on the show, through interviews with influencers like Joe Rogan and Adin Ross, and Logan Paul. These personalities are part of the so-called manosphere, where anti-feminist, often right-wing politics are the norm. While reporting on this corner of the internet, host Micah Loewinger has been thinking a lot about a conversation he had with Richard Reeves, author of the book of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why It Matters and What to Do About It. When Micah spoke to him last year, he said that the mainstream political discourse around men is fundamentally broken.

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

Many of Donald J. Trump’s cabinet picks have something in common: a very close relationship with Fox News. On this week’s On the Media, hear about the revolving door from the conservative network to the White House. Plus, election conspiracy theories from Kamala Harris supporters go viral. And a satirical news site buys up Alex Jones’ Infowars.

[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Matt Gertz, senior fellow at Media Matters, about the re-opened revolving door between conservative media and the Trump administration.

[11:52] Host Micah Loewinger sits down with Anna Merlan, senior reporter at Mother Jones, to discuss the flurry of apparent Democratic voters questioning election results on social media, and why, without backing from public officials, “BlueAnon” is likely a nonstarter.

[20:05] Host Brooke Gladstone chats with Bill Adair, founder of PolitiFact and author of the new book Beyond the Big Lie, about the history of fact-checking and why the field – in desperate need of resources and reinforcements – is struggling to break through in our information ecosystem.

[33:23] Host Micah Loewinger talks with Matt Pearce, former staff writer at the LA Times, and president of Media Guild of the West, about the media’s audience problem.

[43:00] Host Brooke Gladstone calls up Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion, because The Onion bought Alex Jones’ Infowars. Need we say more.

Further reading / listening:

• “A comprehensive review of the revolving door between Fox and the second Trump administration," by Matt Gertz
• “Election Conspiracy Theories Are For Everyone,” by Anna Merlan
• Beyond the Big Lie: The Epidemic of Political Lying, Why Republicans Do It More, and How It Could Burn Down Our Democracy, by Bill Adair
• “Lessons on media policy at the slaughter-bench of history,” by Matt Pearce
• “Here’s Why I Decided To Buy ‘InfoWars',” by Bryce P. Tetraeder, Global Tetrahedron fictitious CEO

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.