FWIW

After the 2016 election, it became clear that progressives needed new tech solutions to meet the needs of a modern campaign. In the past three years, how has Democratic tech changed? Tara sat down with Shomik Dutta, Co-Founder and Partner of progressive startup incubator Higher Ground Labs, to talk about how his company is helping Democrats turn their ideas into powerful digital tools that will help campaigns win.

Why is disinformation such a powerful, malicious force in America and around the world? How should campaigns plan for and deal with disinformation that targets them? For the first episode in this fateful election year, Tara sat down with Jiore Craig, Vice President at GQR and an expert on disinformation, to talk about her experience with disinformation abroad and the steps we can take here at home.

How can we combat right-wing online misinformation and increase civic engagement in America? Tara spoke with Lindsay Schrupp, editor-in-chief of Courier Newsroom, and Pat Kreitlow, Managing Editor of the upcoming Up North News, to discuss how a new digital-first local news company can build trust online in a fractured media ecosystem that is constantly undermined by the President.

What did Republicans learn from 2016? What are Republican consultants and digital operatives learning and trying in 2020? To get a peek into how the other side is thinking about the digital space, Tara sat down with Eric Wilson, the editor of the digital politics newsletter "Learn, Test, Optimize."

What was it like to work for Facebook’s political ad team in 2016, and what can today’s campaigns do to take advantage of the platform? Tara spoke with Facebook-turned-ACRONYM employees Tatenda Musapatike and James Barnes - who worked for Facebook to support campaigns on both sides of the aisle - to discuss what they learned while working for the social media giant.

How has covering the White House and the campaign trail changed over the past decade? Tara spoke with CNN Senior Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny to explore how the media has learned how to report on a presidency and campaign that is unfolding daily on Twitter.

How do political campaigns gather voter data online, and how are they using it to change hearts and minds? To find out, Tara spoke with Nell Thomas, the Chief Technology Officer of the Democratic National Committee.

How has the process of running a modern political campaign changed since Barack Obama’s historic election in 2008? For our inaugural episode, Tara sat down with David Plouffe, former Campaign Manager for President Barack Obama’s ground-breaking presidential campaigns.

Every other week, FWIW will take you where the pundits and campaign spokespeople won’t - behind the scenes, under the hood and into the digital spaces where the race for the White House will be won.