In this episode of extremely, Oren Segal speaks with Elizabeth Williamson, feature writer for The New York Times and author of “Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth.”

Elizabeth and Oren discuss how disinformation and falsehoods inevitably follow mass shootings, and how conspiracies and lies - aided by super-spreaders like Alex Jones - increasingly lead to harassment of and threats against victims’ families. Elizabeth describes how the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting “was a foundational story of how these false narratives and misinformation have gained traction in society.”

“The arbiters of truth in our county,” Elizabeth says, “are still there but they are increasingly disbelieved, and people are making other choices than to listen to them. And so consequently, your arbiter of truth is the person who echoes your beliefs rather than someone who is legitimately interested in getting to the bottom of the situation and presenting facts.”

You can follow Elizabeth on Twitter @NYTLiz

Stay engaged and follow along for more on Twitter at @OrenSegal @ADL and @PERIL_AU

extremely is a podcast from the ADL Center on Extremism. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.

extremely's Senior Producer is Russell Gragg.