Richard Stengel shares his insider account of the fight against the global rise of disinformation – describing how disinformation has been used by terrorist groups like ISIS; how it influenced the 2016 election; how it factors into the current impeachment inquiry; and more. Stengel led the Obama administration’s counter-disinformation efforts while serving as Under Secretary of State from 2013-2016. He previously served as head of the National Constitution Center and was the editor of TIME. Stengel unveils his new book Information Wars: How We Lost the Global Battle Against Disinformation and What We Can Do About It in conversation with NCC President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen.
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Richard Stengel, the longest serving Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in American history (2013-16), helped modernize the State Department’s communications and led the department’s counter-disinformation efforts. Stengel also served as managing editor of TIME for seven years, and was a longtime writer and editor for TIME. From 2004-6, Stengel was President and CEO of the National Constitution Center. He has also taught at Princeton University and is the author of several books include the New York Times best-seller Mandela’s Way.
Jeffrey Rosen is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Constitution Center, the only institution in America chartered by Congress “to disseminate information about the United States Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.”
Additional Resources
- Information Wars: How We Lost the Global Battle Against Disinformation and What We Can Do About It (2019) by Richard Stengel
- Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)
This episode was engineered by Dave Stotz and produced by Jackie McDermott and Tanaya Tauber.
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