TONY BRASUNAS, independent journalist and author of the forthcoming RED, WHITE & BLIND: The Truth About Censorship in America and the Rise of Independent Media, which aims to explore  media distortion and disinformation in the U.S. as well as the upswell of independent media that has risen up to combat it.

• Corporate media vs independent media
• “How 5 Companies Control All US Media”
• New trends: corporate media trying to maintain control
• Factcheckers as part of corporate media
• Astroturf independent media (not actually independent)
• Tremendous bias from corporate media
• Innocent bias, Systemic bias, Nefarious bias.
• Operation Mockingbird - Journalists being fed info or were agents, or were public figures
• Impact of the internet on corporate and independent media.
• The New Enlightenment
• No intermediaries
• Disinformation - building up false perspectives
• Censorship - hiding information
• Origin of COVID
• Weapons of Mass Destruction
• Ambassador’s daughter in Congress pretending to be a nurse.
• Are there bad and nefarious people in corporate media or are many people just being hoodwinked.
• The role of big corporations and perverse incentives.
• The Narrative
• Corporate media has the “power to deliver that narrative”
• Corporate media sees their biggest threat as corporate media
• Journalist - we’re all journalists.
• Balanced media diet - 40 sources to give you an idea of what is really going on.
• Tony’s Media Pyramid
• Watch for confirmation bias.
• The media narratives are the water that we swim in.
• How to share media effectively.
• Use the internet to share ideas you think are good.
• Science is not a set of answers, it’s a way to question.
• Censorship is anathema to science and democracy.

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:

• Simplify and streamline technology
• Save teachers’ time
• Reliably meet Tier 1 standards
• Improve student performance on state assessments

🚀 Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.