Unspun

By Amanda SturgillNews Education Self-Improvement News Commentary

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Unspun episodes

October 06 Why the news feels like it's overwhelming: How finite attention is manipulated to manipulate you
Everyone wants your attention. News organizations want it. Politicians want it. Social media platforms want it. And increasingly, AI systems stand between you and the information you’re looking for.
But attention is finite.
In this episode of UnSpun, Amanda Sturgill examines the attention economy and what decades of research can tell us about who gets our attention—and what they can do with it for good and for evil.
LINKS
Herb Simon's original paper
Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
22 min
September 22 The new censorship and your right to know: UnSpun Journal Club
What happens when censorship stops looking like censorship?
In this episode of UnSpun journal club, DrSturg looks at the book The New Censorship: How the War on the Media Is Taking Us Down, which looks at how populist authoritains harm journalism without controlling the press by using society's norms against it. These leaders are all over the world, but have in common a view of a society splot between “the people” and “the elites.” Journalists who don't support the leader are the enemy. The core freedom isn't freedom of speech. It is whether the public still has a meaningful right to know.
Episode cover image is from Wikimedia Commons by user Mobilus In Mobili

LINKS
The book
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-New-Censorship/Ayala-Panievsky/9781804441114
Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips and Enter to be a Guest Co-host
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
23 min
September 16 "So God Made Trump": Christian Nationalism and Media
Christian nationalists think their country and their God are related, and they've built a media ecosystem to spread their beliefs. Agreeing with this changes how they understand facts, what they support and even some of what they do. In this week of UnSpun, DrSturg breaks down some of the research on Christian nationalists and the media.

LINKS
NPR piece on the Dilley Meme Team
Original video, shared online by politician
Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
30 min
September 08 Who Controls Your News Feed? Algorithms, Inequality, and the News You See (UnSpun Journal Club)
You probably saw some news today.
But did you choose it?
Or did it simply find you?
In this episode of UnSpun, DrSturg looks at research examining how people experience news in everyday life—and why that experience differs depending on how much money you have and how educated you are. The industry needs to look at audiences differently, and the implications for democracy are profound.
LINKS
Paper covered in this episode
Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
20 min
September 01 Can You Trust Influencers? The Hidden Power of Parasocial Relationships

Why does an influencer you've never met sometimes feel like a friend?
In this episode of UnSpun, DrSturg looks at the psychology behind parasocial relationships — the one-sided relationships audiences can develop with influencers, creators, streamers, and other public figures.
We’ll look at how influencers create a sense of intimacy and how those relationships can make advertising more persuasive, reduce our resistance to sales pitches, increase loyalty, and encourage people to spend more time and money with a creator. They can also create enormous pressure for influencers themselves.
And the stakes get even higher when influence moves beyond products and into politics.
As governments, brands, platforms, and political actors recognize how powerful influencers can be, we have to ask a bigger question:
What happens when the person shaping what you think is not a journalist, but someone who feels like your friend?

Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media

Original image from Fquasie on Wikimedia Commons.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
25 min
August 26 Science for the rest of us: Why experts need a megaphone (UnSpun Rewind)
It's harder to get quality information on science that affects your health and life. Dr. Sturg interviews science communicator and neuroscientist Dr. Ben Rein on how researchers with media skills can make a difference. PLUS,
People rely on some bad cues for how to make choices, and sometimes newsmakers don't help. In this episode, learn why "we've always done it this way" can be a bad thing.
Follow Dr. Ben Rein
https://www.benrein.com
https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.brein?lang=en
https://www.instagram.com/doctor.brein/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/dr_brein
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn3KN9-HZ0y_kgZWlkhOPtQ
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xjXaTY4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Follow Dr. Sturg
https://twitter.com/DrSturg
https://www.instagram.com/drsturgill/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandasturgill/
Check out my books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We Are #AltGov; Inside the Social Media Resistance

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
32 min
August 18 Why quality news matters: Journalism and Democracy (UnSpun Rewind)
How can we be drowning in information and at the same time, badly informed? In this week's UnSpun, DrSturg breaks down the relationship of journalism and democracy. Journalism came first, and democracy wouldn't exist without it. But today, journalism is struggling and around the world, democracy is struggling right along with it. Find out how the relationship works, why it's failing and what you can do about it as you get UnSpun.
Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
23 min
August 11 What happens when the rich control the news? UnSpun Rewind: Press in an Oligarchy
Who really controls the news? And what happens when it's the wealthy? In this UnSpun, rewind, Dr. Sturg explores the role of the press in an oligarchy, which is where a small, powerful elite shapes public perception through media ownership, restricted access, and censorship. From billionaire-backed news outlets to state-controlled media, learn how information is manipulated and some things journalists can do to fight back.

Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
23 min
August 04Why is the government targeting universities and the media? UnSpun Rewind on Authoritarians and the News
On this week's UnSpun, DrSturg explores why authoritarian governments target the press and educational institutions, and how these tactics are appearing in democracies worldwide:

Why authoritarian governments restrict press freedom:

Common tactics of information control:

The consequences of information control:

Ways to overcome the censorship

Resources mentioned:
Survey: http://bit.ly/UnSpunSurvey
Books: "Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News" and "We Are #AltGov: Social Media Resistance from the Inside"

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
25 min
July 28 Why does everything feel broken? How newsmakers use sabotage methods to undermine your confidence in your government
There was a secret playbook for destroying governments and newsmakers use some of the same tactics on YOU right now.
What if the chaos in your government isn't an accident? In 1944, the OSS (now the CIA) wrote a classified manual teaching resistance fighters how to dismantle a Nazi occupation from within. Today, those same tactics are being used by governments, politicians and would-be authoritarians,and it's working.
In this episode of UnSpun, DrSturg goes over the 5 sabotage strategies straight from the now declassified Simple Sabotage Field Manual. Learn what to look for with examples from recent news.
LINKS
The declassified OSS sabotage manual
JD Vance tweet with false information about immigrants eating pets
Follow Dr. Sturg
BlueSky -Prof. Amanda Sturgill (@DrSturg)
Websites -Sturg says|Unspun’s Substack
Questions and Tips
[email protected]
Dr. Sturg’s Books
Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News
We are #AltGov: Inside the Resistance on Social Media

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
28 min

About Unspun

From the publisher's feed

Unspun is critical thinking about the news. Hear real examples, past and present, of newsmakers attempting to mislead you and understand how they manipulate the truth. Learn how to avoid being…