Question Everything with Brian Reed

From the Fringe Web to Real Life: How Seriously Should We Be Taking Conspiracy Theories?


Listen Later

Back in December, we did an episode about Pyrra, an AI-powered software that tracks sifts through the far corners of the internet – in some places you probably haven’t even heard of – to see what narratives are emerging from the people who post there. A lot of these are conspiracy theories, and also violent threats.

This week, we check back in with the creator of that software, Dr. Welton Chang, about what narratives he’s seeing, right now, that might soon make the jump from fringe shitposts to actually having an impact in the real world. 

Welton’s especially worried about the violent rhetoric aimed at one particular group of people, which has been topping the charts in recent weeks.

Welton is the creator of Pyrra Technologies, and Vice President for Digital Intelligence Solutions at AlertMedia. 

A listener asked us to clarify that the Romanian presidential elections we refer to in the beginning of this episode are first-round elections, meaning the winning candidate still had to win another round before becoming president.

Sign up for our newsletter: www.kcrw.com/questioneverything


“Question Everything” is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Question Everything with Brian ReedBy KCRW & Placement Theory

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

497 ratings


More shows like Question Everything with Brian Reed

View all
Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,969 Listeners

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,949 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,189 Listeners

The Moth by The Moth

The Moth

27,325 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,162 Listeners

Criminal by Vox Media Podcast Network

Criminal

37,377 Listeners

Death, Sex & Money by Slate Podcasts

Death, Sex & Money

7,701 Listeners

Invisibilia by NPR

Invisibilia

21,657 Listeners

Embedded by NPR

Embedded

12,026 Listeners

Heavyweight by Pushkin Industries

Heavyweight

17,028 Listeners

S-Town by Serial Productions

S-Town

45,907 Listeners

Decoder Ring by Slate Podcasts

Decoder Ring

2,079 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,043 Listeners

Search Engine by PJ Vogt

Search Engine

4,352 Listeners

Proxy with Yowei Shaw by Y3 Productions

Proxy with Yowei Shaw

510 Listeners