News Over Noise: Crowdsourcing Reality: How Participatory Disinformation Is Shaping the News

Season 4 of News Over Noise wraps with a conversation that gets at one of the biggest challenges facing today’s information ecosystem: participatory disinformation.

In this episode, Matt Jordan and Cory Barker talk with Kate Starbird (University of Washington) about how misinformation is no longer just “created and spread,” but actively shaped, remixed, amplified, and interpreted by online audiences in real time.

They explore:
• How platforms turn users into participants in the spread of information
• Why the line between audience and actor is increasingly blurred
• The role of online crowds in shaping narratives during crises and political moments
• What all of this means for journalism, trust, and the possibility of a shared reality

Listen here to the episode: News Over Noise 410.

A huge thank you to everyone who listened, shared, and supported Season 4!

News Over Noise is a co-production of WPSU and the Penn State College of Commuications.