Azadeh Shahshahani on Central America Plan, Jon Lloyd on Facebook Disinformation

In These Times (8/2/22)

This week on CounterSpin: The Biden administration says it’s making progress toward its goal to slow migration from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador by addressing the causes of that migration. The White House “Call to Action” foregrounds private sector “investments” as key to creating economic opportunity and to rooting out corruption in the region. And companies like Microsoft and PepsiCo have stepped up to do…well, what exactly? And how does this differ from the support for transnational corporations and their extractive, profit-driven policies that has misled US involvement for decades? Azadeh Shahshahani is legal and advocacy director at Project South. She joins us to raise some questions about the US government’s claim that this time, they’re really bringing stability and security to northern Central America.

Transcript: ‘The US Must Break Free of the Banana Republic Mentality’

Global Witness (8/15/22)

Also on the show: Facebook would appear to be 0 for 4 in tests of its ability to detect and reject ads containing blatant election-related misinformation—in this case, ahead of important elections in Brazil. The group Global Witness found what they’re calling a “pattern” of the social media platform allowing ads on the site that violate the most basic of standards—including, for example, telling folks the wrong date to vote. At what point does “Oops! But please believe we take all of this very seriously!” stop being a plausible excuse? We talk with Jon Lloyd, senior advisor at Global Witness.

Transcript: ‘Bizarre Decisions From Facebook Call Into Question Moderation Systems’

Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look at how NPR misremembers the Afghan invasion.