In a society with free expression and an open marketplace of ideas, will the truth eventually win? One Russian-born journalist says the idea that facts will always triumph is “nonsense.”

Peter Pomerantsev knows more than nearly anyone about how governments wield disinformation as a weapon. A Russian-born journalist and former reality TV producer, Pomerantsev is now a Senior Fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. There, he co-directs the Arena Initiative, a research program dedicated to overcoming the challenges of disinformation and propaganda that endanger democracy.

Today, many experts are accusing Russia of cooking up stories that will justify invading Ukraine – something Pomerantsev sees as yet another chapter in a longstanding Russian playbook. If you’re interested in learning more about disinformation and how it could spark the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II:

• queue up this podcast interview from Tech Policy Press, for Pomerantsev’s thoughts on whether Western governments are making any strides in countering disinformation, and whether tech companies can or should handle government propaganda on their platforms.
• grab Pomerantsev’s 2019 book This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality, for a captivating look at how disinformation has destabilized societies around the globe.

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