Wonks and War Rooms

This week Elizabeth talks with Seher Shafiq, a program manager at the Mozilla Foundation and expert in civic engagement, particularly in the context of elections and engaging marginalized people in the vote. They discuss how AI is impacting Canadian elections, civic engagement, and democracy. They look at helpful and not so helpful uses of AI tools in elections and chat about ways these tools could be used to increase voter engagement. Seher concludes the episode with suggestions for how we c...

In this episode Elizabeth discusses the idea of counter-speech as content moderation with far right extremist researcher, Kesa White. Kesa describes her work on “dog-whistling,” talks about how counter speech can be helpful but doesn’t solve the problem of hate speech online, and explains some of the challenges tech companies face with content moderation. Drawing on her own experience with hate-speech she emphasizes how important it is for us to keep being “in the know” about social media and...

This week Elizabeth talks with Michael Redhead Champagne, a community organizer in Winnipeg working to dismantle harmful systems and build better ones through Indigenous practices and knowledge. They discuss collective and connective action logics, and the importance of creating networks of people to promote and sustain change. Michael talks about building a spider web or network to help advance change, highlighting how essential fostering social connections is for pushing for political chang...

In this episode Elizabeth chats with TikTok creator and researcher T.X. Watson about parasocial relationships and how this term created in the 1950s applies, or not, to digital content creators. T.X. talks about relationships between influencers and their followers and how both research and popular culture still don't have words to properly describe this new form of connection. They discuss important topics that show up throughout this season of Wonks and War Rooms, such as authenticity, ethi...

In this episode Elizabeth delves into the fascinating world of data and personalization with Hamish Marshall, former National Campaign Manager for the Conservative Party of Canada and seasoned expert at the crossroads of data and politics. They explore the evolution from the Two-Step Flow to the One-Step Flow of Communication, examining how data personalization and the changing media landscape have shifted the way information is disseminated in political campaigns. Hamish shares real-world in...

In this episode, Elizabeth chats with digital communication strategist and experienced political campaigner, Nate Lubin about social media content creators in politics. Nate draws on his experience with the Better Internet Initiative which helps influencers make educational content related to progressive issues as well as his past experience as Director of the Office of Digital Strategy at the White House and Director of Digital Marketing at Obama for America. They talk about what constitutes...

In this episode Elizabeth chats with journalist Rachel Gilmore about what counts as journalistic content and how to navigate the intersection of journalism and the social media influencer industry. Rachel is a freelance journalist who posts regularly on TikTok (@rachel_gilmore), Instagram (@r.gilmore), and X (@atRachelGilmore) having previously worked in organizations such as CTV and Global News.Additional Resources:In this episode, Elizabeth and Rachel discuss the blurred boundaries between ...

This week Elizabeth chats with Dave Sommer, Vice President of Strategic Communication at Enterprise Canada, former Head of Politics and Government at Instagram in Washington, D.C., and former Deputy Director of Communications, Digital, for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa. They chat about the use of social media in political campaigning, where personal influence fits in, and how it has evolved over time.Additional Resources:Elizabeth and Dave discuss how social media can be a tool to h...

This week Elizabeth chats with tech culture reporter and Washington Post columnist, Taylor Lorenz about influencers and the influencer industry. Taylor takes us from Ce-web-reties to influencers to content creators, telling us a bit about the history of folks who monetize their online presence. The two chat about the influencer industry beyond social media influencer marketing, the unique dynamics of political campaigning, smaller scale content creators as opinion leaders, and the ways in whi...

Prepare for an intriguing journey in Season 6 of Wonks & War Rooms! Join Elizabeth Dubois as she unravels the dynamics of personal influence in politics, especially as it evolves with new technologies. In this episode Elizabeth talks about her experience working in politics and how it has pushed her to question what counts as personal influence and what roles technology plays in political communication.She also gives a peak at what to expect this season. New episodes drop Wednesday m...