Trust in journalism is rapidly eroding. At the same time, partisanship is skyrocketing.

Ahead of the 2024 US election, the GZERO World Podcast takes a look at the media’s role in politics and democracy itself. What lessons has the press learned since 2020 and how will the first election in the age of generative AI play out?

Donald Trump’s presidency and role in contesting the 2020 election was a unique challenge for journalists. How do you reliably cover the US president and leader of the free world while he regularly repeats misinformation? And how to you challenge a politician whose entire brand is premised on the idea he’s being attacked by the press?

There's also the issue of covering some of the more extreme elements in both political parties. Politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traffic in conspiracy theories and often, outright lies. But they have a growing constellation of media platforms, from NewsMax to Joe Rogan, to reach an increasingly fragmented audience distrustful of mainstream news sources.

What lessons did journalists and the media take away from 2016 and 2020? And how will generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney impact the upcoming US presidential election in 2024?

Media experts Brian Stelter, journalist and former CNN anchor, as well as Nicole Hemmer, a political historian specializing in partisan media break down the current media landscape in a conversation with host Ian Bremmer.

The past, present and future of political media

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

The past, present and future of political media