Posting Through It

Adam Kovacevich is the founder and CEO of the tech-funded trade group Chamber of Progress, which encourages lawmakers to take pro-tech positions in their policymaking. He joins the show to offer a hopeful view for the future of Twitter under Elon Musk at a time where many others have forecasted the platform's demise.Follow Adam Kovacevich on Twitter: @adamkovacChamber of Progress website: progresschamber.org/Adam's favorite thing online: Stephen Patula on YouTubeCheck out the newsletter and episode archive at postingthroughit.comSupport the showSubscribe to the Posting Through It newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com

Will Sommer is a reporter at The Daily Beast and the author of an upcoming book on the Qanon conspiracy theory. He also co-hosts the Fever Dreams podcast. Sommer joins the show to run down a few notable stories from right-wing internet land, including Kanye West's announced plan to buy Parler, an alt-right movie evaporating a million bucks, and more.Follow Will Sommer on Twitter: @willsommerPre-order: 'Trust the Plan: The Rise of Qanon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America'Check out the newsletter and episode archive at postingthroughit.comSupport the showSubscribe to the Posting Through It newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com

Mike Rothschild is the author of a great book on the QAnon conspiracy theory and its cultural significance. He joins the show to discuss former President Donald Trump's promotion of content from the conspiracy theory's followers on Truth Social, what the movement has been up to in the last year or two, and what its believers have planned for midterm elections.Follow Mike Rothschild on Twitter: @rothschildmdRead: The Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult, and Conspiracy Theory of EverythingCheck out the newsletter and episode archive at postingthroughit.comSupport the showSubscribe to the Posting Through It newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com

Molly White is the software engineer, Wikipedia editor, and independent researcher behind Web3 Is Going Just Great, a project that chronicles the not-so-fabulous drumbeat of disasters related to cryptocurrency and other web3 products. She joins the show to explain "web3" technologies and squash the hype around them. Molly and Jared talk about the political implications of web3 tech, and they also hear a few words from Molly's dog, who barks a few times in the middle of the episode.Follow Molly White on Twitter: @molly0xFFFFollow Web3 Is Going Just Great on Twitter: @web3isgreatCheck out the newsletter and episode archive at postingthroughit.comSupport the showSubscribe to the Posting Through It newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com

Robert Silverman is a reporter who has published some of the most definitive reporting on pro-Trump social media personality Tim Pool to date. As much as Tim Pool may sell his offerings as better alternatives to mainstream media, Robert Silverman explains how writers at his news blog have relied almost entirely on work done by mainstream news services. Some writers, he found, have even engaged in acts of plagiarism, copying lines from mainstream outlets nearly verbatim.Follow Robert Silverman: @BobSaiettaThe Daily Beast: Tim Pool’s News Site Plagiarized the Mainstream Media He Claims to HateCheck out the newsletter and episode archive at postingthroughit.comSupport the showSubscribe to the Posting Through It newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com

Trapezoid of Discovery is the pseudonym used by an information security engineer who has cataloged and refuted claims from election deniers as they’ve toured around the country, drawing crowds and inspiring conspiracy-minded activism. We discuss what these traveling events have been like, why people should pay attention to what’s happening around them, and how they relate to the broader Republican activist base.Follow Trapezoid of Discovery: @get_innocuousThe NPR article mentioned in this episode: Election deniers have taken their fraud theories on tour — to nearly every state Read the newsletter: postingthroughit.comSupport the showSubscribe to the Posting Through It newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com

Emmi Conley is an extremism researcher who joins the show to talk about the far-right’s reaction to the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago, the revelation that the cringe @BasedMikeLee Twitter account does in fact belong to Sen. Mike Lee, Democrats’ encounters with “Dark Brandon” memes and more.Follow Emmi: @GamerGirlRights Read the newsletter: postingthroughit.comSupport the showSubscribe to the Posting Through It newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com

Kristen Doerer is the managing editor of Right Wing Watch, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to cataloguing the goings-on of the American far-right. (Jared used to work there, and Kristen was his boss!) Kristen joins the show this week to discuss recent January 6th Committee hearings that broached far-right extremists’ and the online communities’ roles in the Capitol riot. In the first half, Jared and Kristen talk about takeaways from the hearings so far. In the second part, they field the questions listeners sent on Substack and Twitter.Follow Kristen on Twitter: @k2doeYou’ll get one more newsletter. After that, the show goes offline for a few weeks while Jared treks around the world on his honeymoon. Paid subscribers should read the post about the related billing pause. The show will be back mid-August! Read the newsletter: postingthroughit.comSupport the showSubscribe to the Posting Through It newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com

Nick Backovic and Ernie Piper are writers at Logically who produce investigative journalism related to online disinformation and conspiracy theories. They join the podcast this week to discuss an investigation they published about a QAnon cryptocurrency scheme that scammed believers out of gobs of cash, including one who died by suicide after losing more than $100,000 in the racket. Jared and the Logically guys discuss the findings of that investigation and lessons the rest of us might glean from what transpired.Follow Nick on Twitter: @nickbackovicFollow Ernie on Twitter: @whoisernieRead their investigation: QAnon Crypto Trading Scheme Lost Investors Millions(https://www.logically.ai/articles/qanon-crypto-lose-followers-2-million)Theme music via DJ Danarchy: https://hearthis.at/danarchy/ Read the newsletter: postingthroughit.comSupport the showSubscribe to the Posting Through It newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com

Ali Breland is a reporter at Mother Jones who covers online disinformation. He joins the podcast this week to talk about two of his recent essays that confront the flaws and shortcomings of conversations around disinformation, extremism, violence and other harms. Ali discusses why terms like “echo chamber” don’t adequately capture the dynamic social media platforms play in shaping political ideology. Then we talk about the infinite cycle of doom that Americans face in public life. This episode isn’t a feel-good one but we hope you’ll agree that conversations like these are important to have—and especially so when they are unpleasant.Follow Ali on Twitter: @alibrelandRead Ali’s recent writing at Mother Jones:Who Exactly Is Trapped in an “Echo Chamber”?Mass Shootings and Our Never-ending DoomcycleAli’s favorite things online: hyper-niche meme accounts and Musical artist Bo Daddy HarrisTheme music via DJ Danarchy: https://hearthis.at/danarchy/ Read the newsletter: postingthroughit.comSupport the showSubscribe to the Posting Through It newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit postthroughit.substack.com