A recent report from the Pew Research Center finds that 1 in 5 Americans get their news from influencers. On this week’s On the Media, YouTuber and science communicator Hank Green explains how he makes the truth go viral. Plus, hear how tech billionaires plan to escape the end of the world.

[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Renée DiResta, researcher studying online manipulation and professor at Georgetown University, about what the data tells us about how news consumption is changing. Plus, how news influencers are rewriting the power dynamics of media.

[17:04] Host Micah Loewinger interviews science communicator, YouTuber, and entrepreneur Hank Green about how he makes the truth go viral, how he connects with his audience of many millions, and how he chooses what topics to cover.

[33:44] Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Douglas Rushkoff, whose many books probe the practice and philosophy of digital technology, about whether the apocalypse survival fantasies of tech billionaires are actually viable.

Further reading/listening/watching:

Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality, by Renée DiResta
“Everyone Was Wrong About Avocados - Including Us,” by SciShow
“Why do Cars Suddenly Look Like Putty??” by Hank Green
Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires, by Douglas Rushkoff

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How Hank Green Makes the Truth Go Viral. Plus, the Escape Fantasies of the Uber Rich.

On the Media