Countering Foreign Media Manipulation. Or Not.

Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss Gavin Wilde’s recent article in the Texas National Security Review on foreign media manipulation. How vulnerable are citizens of democracies to manipulation through social media? Is a more open and less hierarchical media space a national security threat? And what, if anything, should policymakers in democracies do about this issue? Grievances for China blocking popular apps, Marjorie Taylor Green for her shenanigans surrounding the foreign aid vote, and to the F-35, the gift that keeps on giving (to the tune of $2 trillion); Attas for Samuel Charap and Sergey Radchenko for an important article on Ukraine, to Mike Johnson for taking a principled stand on the foreign aid bill, and to the first Australian officers to participate in AUKUS nuclear submarine training.

Episode Reading

• Gavin Wilde, “From Panic to Policy: The Limits of Foreign Propaganda and the Foundations of an Effective Response,” Texas National Security Review, vol 7, iss 2, Spring 2024.
• Aaron Gregg and Eva Dou, “Apple pulls WhatsApp, Threads and Signal from app store in China,” Washington Post, April 19, 2024.
• “F-35 Sustainment: Costs Continue to Rise While Planned Use and Availability Have Decreased,” US Government Accountability Office, GAO-24-106703, April 15, 2024.
• Connor Echols, “The F-35 Fighter Will Now Cost More than $2 Trillion,” Responsible Statecraft, April 17, 2024.
• Samuel Charap and Sergey Radchenko, “The Talks that Could Have Ended the War in Ukraine,” Foreign Affairs, April 26, 2024.
• Emma Ashford, “Did Boris Johnson Really Sabotage Peace Talks between Russia and Ukraine? The Reality Is More Complicated,” The Guardian, April 22, 2024.

Image Credit: Enlisted men, wounded in battle, on board the USS President Hayes (APA-20) at Hunter’s Point, San Francisco, Cal. Sailors home again after many months, eagerly reading American newspapers. Photo by the Naval Photographic Center via Wikimedia Commons.

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