Deep fake videos have the potential to make it impossible to sort fact from fiction. And some have argued that this blackhole of doubt will eventually send truth itself into a death spiral. But a series of recent events in the small African nation of Gabon suggest it's already happening.
Today, we follow a ragtag group of freedom fighters as they troll Gabon’s president - Ali Bongo - from afar. Using tweets, videos and the uncertainty they can carry, these insurgents test the limits of using truth to create political change and, confusingly, force us to ask: Can fake news be used for good?
This episode was reported and produced by Simon Adler.
Support Radiolab today at Radiolab.org/donate.
Duration
1h 7m
Broadcast on
26 Nov 2019
Audio Format
other
This episode appears to contain dynamically inserted ads. Transcript timestamps may be approximate.
Deep fake videos have the potential to make it impossible to sort fact from fiction. And some have argued that this blackhole of doubt will eventually send truth itself into a death spiral. But a series of recent events in the small African nation of Gabon suggest it's already happening.
Today, we follow a ragtag group of freedom fighters as they troll Gabon’s president - Ali Bongo - from afar. Using tweets, videos and the uncertainty they can carry, these insurgents test the limits of using truth to create political change and, confusingly, force us to ask: Can fake news be used for good?
This episode was reported and produced by Simon Adler.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
WNYC Studios is supported by WISE. WISE, the smart way to manage the currencies you need around the world. With a WISE account, you can send, spend, and receive in up to 40 currencies, with only a few simple taps. Be smart, get WISE. Download the WISE app today. Terms and conditions apply. WNYC Studios is supported by Odu. When you buy business software from lots of vendors, the costs add up and it gets complicated and confusing. Odu solves this. It's a single company that sells a suite of enterprise apps that handles everything from accounting to inventory to sales. Odu is all connected on a single platform in a simple and affordable way. You can save money without missing out on the features you need. Check out Odu at ODOO.com. That's O-D-O-O dot com. Oh, wait, you're listening to radio. Lab, lab, from WNYC. Hey, I'm Jada Muenrod. I'm Robert Krollich. This is Radio Lab. And today... All right. We are on the corner of third and 42nd heading east. We're talking about... What are we talking about? We're talking about your... We're talking about your ex-pat rebellion. Yes. Okay, I like it. And as you just heard, it comes from our producer, Simon Adler. And a quick warning. If you've got kids listening, there are a few curse words in this story. So just be warned. Okay, here's Simon. Right. So... All right, another police checkpoint here. A month or so back. Have your bags open. See if I can get room. I went down to the United Nations looking for this group of activists. Okay. I was walking down Second Ave. And that morning, the UN General Assembly was in session. So security was super tight. Lots of guys with guns. And they had cordoned off everything within about a block of the UN building itself. Do you want to see what's in my bag?
Transcription truncated.
Deep fake videos have the potential to make it impossible to sort fact from fiction. And some have argued that this blackhole of doubt will eventually send truth itself into a death spiral. But a series of recent events in the small African nation of Gabon suggest it's already happening.
Today, we follow a ragtag group of freedom fighters as they troll Gabon’s president - Ali Bongo - from afar. Using tweets, videos and the uncertainty they can carry, these insurgents test the limits of using truth to create political change and, confusingly, force us to ask: Can fake news be used for good?
This episode was reported and produced by Simon Adler.
Support Radiolab today at Radiolab.org/donate.
