Episode 44--Misinformation, Disinformation, Bots, and Trolls

Episode 44 of the Think It Through: the Clearer Thinking Podcast podcast, hosted by April Hebert, titled "Episode 44--Misinformation, Disinformation, Bots, and Trolls" was published on January 12, 2026 and runs 22 minutes.

January 12, 2026 ·22m · Think It Through: the Clearer Thinking Podcast

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Summary

Send a text While it's always been the case that "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting its boots on," it's exponentially more true since the rise of the internet, particularly social media. In this episode, April looks at how and why misinformation and disinformation (which are not the same thing, btw) travel so quickly around our media landscape and affect the way we view the world. Episode 44 Show Notes (I have so many sources I can't put descriptions ...

Episode Description

Send a text

While it's always been the case that "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting its boots on," it's exponentially more true since the rise of the internet, particularly social media. In this episode, April looks at how and why misinformation and disinformation (which are not the same thing, btw) travel so quickly around our media landscape and affect the way we view the world.

Episode 44 Show Notes

(I have so many sources I can't put descriptions on them because I would go over the character limit, but they're generally in the order they are found in the episode):

https://theonion.com/planned-parenthood-opens-8-billion-abortionplex-1819572640/

https://www.freedomforum.org/misinformation-vs-disinformation/#:~:text=Misinformation%20is%20false%20information%20disseminated,intentional%2C%20whereas%20misinformation%20is%20unintentional.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/north-carolina-man-sentenced-four-year-prison-term-armed-assault-northwest-washington

https://campaignlegal.org/results-lawsuits-regarding-2020-elections

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/14/alex-jones-sandy-hook-settlement-supreme-court-appeal-00607361

https://shorensteincenter.org/research-initiative/the-hks-misinformation-review/

https://news.mit.edu/2018/study-twitter-false-news-travels-faster-true-stories-0308

https://som.yale.edu/story/2023/reimagining-social-media-news-sharing-research-finds-users-habits-key-safer-and-more#:~:text=One%20important%20aspect%20that%20contributes,professor%20of%20psychology%20and%20business.

https://www.imperva.com/resources/resource-library/reports/2024-bad-bot-report/

https://www.clrn.org/how-much-of-the-internet-is-ai-generated/

https://theconversation.com/how-ai-bots-spread-misinformation-online-and-undermine-democratic-politics-234915

https://www.heinz.cmu.edu/media/2018/October/troll-farms-and-fake-news-social-media-weaponization#:~:text=Russian%20%E2%80%9Ctroll%20farms%E2%80%9D%E2%80%94groups,%E2%80%94literally%E2%80%94divide%20and%20conquer.