What a headline-heavy summer! The Olympics, the Kamala Harris candidacy announcement, and attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
Why should you care? Because the volume and speed of news invites us to take stock of our news diet, and to cultivate greater discernment. To pause, not panic.
Otherwise, how could we possibly keep up with the childless cat ladies memes? (I found this one while scrolling the myriad Cat Ladies Facebook groups):
Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance did more for Kamala Harris’ record-breaking marketing campaign (I mean fundraising) with one quip than any other opponent in recent history. His Fox News comments from a Tucker Carlson interview became the hiss heard around the globe.
I am not getting political here, although I am rooting for preserving a two-party system, a solid Constitution, and a vibrant democracy.
Let me give you my perspective as a strategist…and a childless cat lady.
I am simply gob smacked at the impact of this communications Kung Fu fight. I am tempted to jump into the name-calling fray. But my mindfulness practice helps me stand on the sidelines and practice peaceful disobedience.
Mooji the Wonder Cat, February 2024. Yes, he loathes being held.
Whatever country you call home, I hope you observe our USA election process. Then question whether your news diet and company content strategy are helping or hindering your critical thinking abilities.
I could have never predicted that our 86th podcast and livestream focused on helping you cultivate these qualities, fight fake news and protect your brand. Call it cat-crazy—but the show dropped at a time when we needed these reminders the most.
Watch the show here (37 minutes). OR listen on Apple Podcasts here.
In this episode we welcomed Jack Brewster of NewsGuard. They are committed to providing transparent tools to counter fake news for marketers, business leaders, and democracies. You may have heard about his recent Wall Street Journal essay (ping me for the free article link). It outlined his experience building a fake news site in less than 48 hours and less than $150. That’s not a typo.
In short, here’s what you can do to quiet the fake news noise and protect your brand:
- Practice “pre-bunking” across the company. Jack recommends that “readers should be informed about sources that often share misinformation so they can critically evaluate the information they encounter.” NewsGuard can help here.
- Before you take the content seriously, copy the story into Google. See the source. Are they a Tier 1, credible site? Care before you share.
- Embrace a healthy media diet. Cut your social media consumption by just five minutes a day (please avoid using Facebook, Instagram, or X as your “go-to” news feeds). Divert that 5 minutes worth of energy to reliable news sources.
- Refine your critical thinking skills. A lot of my CEO and CMO clients have young, inexperienced team members running their content and communications strategies. That does not excuse misinformation and junk content. It’s incumbent on leaders to help younger professionals build critical thinking and strategic muscles. Invest in courses, such as “Developing Critical Thinking Skills” by my fellow LinkedIn Learning instructor Becki Saltzman.
- When using generative AI tools to brainstorm or summarize, ask the tool for exact sources and the URL to that source. Then ▶ TEST that link. Some will not work.
Bad links have appeared in my prompts dozens of times, and I use paid versions of ChatGPT and Claude. Here’s hoping hallucination goes the way of cat lady memes—and soon.
Among these five fake news fighters, which one will you implement? Paws for a moment, and let me know.
Follow Jack Brewster’s work and subscribe to NewsGuard’s free “Reality Check” here.
Lisa
This post was completely written by me — a human. I did not use generative AI.
© 2024, Lisa Nirell. All rights reserved. lisanirell.com.