Latest news with #Influence
The Intercept
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Intercept
The Disinformation Machine After a Murder
In the wake of the political assassination of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, prominent right-wing figures moved quickly to assign blame. Utah Sen. Mike Lee pinned the killings on 'Marxism.' Elon Musk pointed to the 'far left.' Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, said it 'seems to be a leftist.' But the facts quickly told a different story: The suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter is a Trump supporter who held radical anti-abortion views. 'There's an entire right-wing media machine aimed at pushing disinformation around breaking news events and specifically attributing violence to the left,' says Taylor Lorenz, independent journalist and author of 'Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet.' 'You see this over and over and over again, no matter who is perpetrating the violence.' 'The reality is that the vast overwhelming majority of political violence in recent years has come from the right,' adds Akela Lacy, The Intercept's senior politics reporter. 'It basically treats that fact as if it's not real, as if it doesn't exist,' she says — a dynamic that then fails to address the root causes. This week on The Intercept Briefing, host Jordan Uhl talks with Lorenz and Lacy about how online disinformation is distorting public understanding of major events — from political violence to immigration to potential war with Iran. In this chaos-driven ecosystem, the right — and Trump especially — know how to thrive. 'There are these right-wing influencer networks that exist to amplify misinformation and shape narratives online,' says Lorenz. 'A lot of them coordinate, literally directly coordinate through group chats,' she explains. 'They receive messaging directly from leaders in the Republican Party that they immediately disseminate.' That messaging loop reinforces itself — seeping into mainstream culture, dominating social media, and driving Trump's policies. Lacy points to a striking example: Democratic Sen. Tina Smith from Minnesota confronting Lee over his false claim that the shooter was a Marxist, and his apparent surprise at being held accountable. ' There's no reason that a sitting U.S. senator is spreading these lies, should not expect to be confronted by his colleagues over something like this. And that says volumes about the environment on the Hill,' says Lacy. But this right-wing narrative war doesn't work without help to boost their legitimacy. 'These manufactured outrage campaigns are not successful unless they're laundered by the traditional media,' says Lorenz. 'If the New York Times or the BBC or NPR — which is one of the worst — don't launder those campaigns and pick those campaigns up, they kind of don't go anywhere.' You can hear the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
Montreal Gazette
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Montreal Gazette
St-Victor: Juliette Powell never stood still, whether on MusiquePlus or tech's cutting edge
I'm a romantic and believe that television's golden age is yet to come, and that the medium's death has been greatly exaggerated. Still, while it may be hard to believe now, once upon a time television unified people every day, at the same time and not on demand. TV was about daily rendezvous, not just when it was time for sports spectacles and year-end shows. Quebec TV is unique. These daily rendezvous still exist, and beyond game shows and newscasts. In addition to those staples, the province produces high-quality, addictive televised fiction, like Radio-Canada's Stat and Dumas. At another time, for another generation, the daily rendezvous included everything and anything that aired on MusiquePlus. The U.S. had MTV, and the rest of Canada had MuchMusic. MTV became an unavoidable stop for artists and politicians alike, including a presidential candidate named Bill Clinton, who created one of the most memorable moments of his 1992 campaign on the channel. It wasn't that much different here in Quebec: MusiquePlus was a must for both international and local stars, who used the network to première their videos or announce their tours. Hosts emerged who thrived beyond their departure from the channel, which stopped airing in 2019, and who remain influential staples of our media landscape, like Anne-Marie Withenshaw and Rebecca Makonnen. Also on the MusiquePlus roster of hosts was Juliette Powell, who died June 3 of acute bacterial meningitis, a few weeks shy of her 55th birthday. I met her in 2009, not long after she released her book 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business With Social Networking. I interviewed her for a blog, and she was brilliant and generous. She was also an avant-gardist, understanding that social media was going to change everything. In her book, she analyzed Barack Obama's sophisticated usage of social media platforms, which has since become a blueprint for so many aspiring politicians. Powell also had influence. I wonder if she knew what seeing her on the screen meant to so many of us. When a public personality dies, the praise they receive is quite a barometer. When news of Powell's passing broke this week, there was an avalanche of love on social media. In addition to the sadness, posts have expressed admiration for a woman who broke many barriers. Sure, she was the first Black Canadian to be named Miss Canada in 1989, but parlaying that into a television gig where she interviewed some of the world's most prominent musical artists was quite a feat. For many of us, she was a star among stars. Did she know it? Possibly not. Local media critics could be brutal and gratuitous. But that's the price when you're one of the first and one of the very few. The impossibly high bar is set not by you, but by those who question whether you belong. MusiquePlus had its share of mediocre VJs. Juliette Powell was not one of them. Those of us who cherished seeing a Black woman on Quebec television knew this. She moved to Toronto in 1996, hosting on MuchMusic and also studying economics, which led to business reporting on television. Her continued thirst for knowledge brought her to New York, where she graduated from Columbia University and recently taught at New York University. She remained one step ahead of most of us, researching and advising on artificial intelligence and ethics in tech. Powell was gorgeous and, honestly, she could have just banked on her looks, but she was too bright and had too much talent and vision for that. She was style and substance. And that, too, had an impact. Did she know? Whether or not she did, Juliette Powell mattered.
The Guardian
08-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Trump-Musk feud shows what happens when unregulated money floods politics
Elon Musk said, very loudly and very publicly, what is usually the quiet part of the role of money in US politics. 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate. Such ingratitude,' he wrote on his X social media platform amid an ongoing feud with Donald Trump. When rightwing commentator Laura Loomer wrote that Republicans on Capitol Hill had been discussing whom to side with in the inter-party feud, Musk replied with a nod toward the long tail of his influence. 'Oh and some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years … ,' Musk wrote on X. Billionaires in the US often seek to influence politics in big and small ways, throwing their money and influence around to extract what they want from the government. But few are as explicit and influential as Musk has proven in the past year – and it's showing just how transactional and broken US governance has become. The Trump-Musk battle exemplifies the post-Citizens United picture of US politics: the world's richest person paid handsomely to elect his favored candidate, then took a formal, if temporary, role with a new governmental initiative created for him that focused on dismantling parts of the government he didn't like. We're sitting ringside to a fight between the mega-rich president and the far richer Republican donor to see who can cut more services from the poor. As one satirical website put it: 'Aw! These Billionaires Are Fighting Over How Much Money to Steal From Poor People.' Fifteen years ago, the US supreme court ruled that corporations and outside groups could spend as much as they wanted on elections. In that ruling, conservative justice Anthony Kennedy said: 'The appearance of influence or access, furthermore, will not cause the electorate to lose faith in our democracy.' In the years since, it's become clear that these infusions of wealth have eroded democracy, with Musk's ostentatious example accelerating an already out-of-control level of money in politics. Musk spent nearly $300m to elect Trump in 2024. It's the billionaire's government now. 'Fifteen years after that decision, we're seeing the full culmination of living under a Citizens United world – where it's not just elections that are for sale, but it's that our entire government, and the apparatus of our government, is up for sale,' Tiffany Muller, the president of End Citizens United, told the Bulwark earlier this year. Musk isn't alone here: in races up and down the ballot, ultra-rich donors are throwing around their cash to get their favored candidates elected. This is the standard state of play for politics in the US now, in both political parties. Bernie Sanders confronted Democrats at their convention last year to say: 'Billionaires in both parties should not be able to buy elections, including primary elections.' Earlier this year, Musk poured big money into a Wisconsin judicial election, but lost to the Democratic candidate. And he's sent small-dollar donations to Republicans who wanted to go after judges who ruled against the Trump administration. The threat of his money, even if it is uneven and has an inconsistent success record, looms large for both political parties. But, by virtue of his unelected role, Musk couldn't do as much as he wanted to stop Trump's signature spending bill – or so it seems so far. Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' didn't cut enough spending or favor Musk enough or otherwise meet his litmus test for a budget. And when the administration stopped working for him, he turned on it, blazing out the door in a chaotic fashion. It's a fitting coda to the uneasy alliance between Trump and Musk that started with a warm embrace and front-row status for the ultra-wealthy when Trump took office. The fact that Musk holds such sway over the budget process is in itself corruption. Trump has said Musk knew what was in the bill, the undertone being that the administration sought his approval before the public explosion. Musk embraced a brawling style of political spending that is rare among the uber-wealthy, who tend to let their money speak louder than their public words. One expert in philanthropy previously told the Guardian Musk stood out because of his 'complete eschewal of discretion as a mode of political engagement'. Musk is now rallying his followers on X to reach out to their members of Congress and kill the bill, a quest that could be successful, depending on how Republican lawmakers shake out when they're forced to decide between their ideologue president and a megadonor known for his vindictiveness. In rightwing media, the feud has created a chasm. On Breitbart, one commentator noted how Trump was 'sticking his finger in the eye of his biggest donor and that never happens'. In the American Spectator, one writer opined that Musk did not elect Trump: 'the American people did.' But in the pages of the Washington Examiner, Musk's stance on the bill was praised because Trump's budget plan 'deserves to die'. 'I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago,' Trump wrote to cap off a series of posts and public comments about Musk. Musk has 'lost his mind', the president said in a TV interview Friday. So far, Republican officials are lining up behind Trump. 'President Trump has done more than any person in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads,' JD Vance said. If Musk ultimately loses, he could take his money and run elsewhere. He floated the idea of creating a third political party, a prospect that's been tried many times before but without the wealth infusion and bully pulpit he'd offer to the cause. Democrats, themselves quite reliant on rich donors, will lobby for him to switch sides. The Democratic representative Ro Khanna suggested the party should 'be in a dialogue' with Musk. Although Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley and has called for the left to embrace economic populism, saw intense backlash against his comments from his party, he doubled down. 'If Biden had a big supporter criticize him, Trump would have hugged him the next day,' he wrote on X. 'When we refused to meet with @RobertKennedyJr, Trump embraced him & won. We can be the party of sanctimonious lectures, or the party of FDR that knows how to win & build a progressive majority.'
Time of India
29-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
6 essential books every professional should read to decode human behaviour and communicate smarter
In today's fast-paced, high-stakes professional environment, understanding human behaviour is more than a soft skill, it's a strategic asset. Whether you're managing teams, negotiating deals, leading change, or building client relationships, the ability to decode why people act the way they do is key to effective communication and sustained influence. While countless theories have emerged over time, a handful of books stand out for their clarity, depth, and real-world application. The six acclaimed titles listed here offer powerful frameworks to help professionals manage complex interpersonal dynamics with greater insight and effectiveness. Whether your goal is to influence ethically, make sounder decisions, or lead with empathy, these books serve as indispensable guides. 1. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion – Robert Cialdini Robert Cialdini's Influence introduces six universal principles that drive human decision-making: reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity. These principles help explain how marketers, leaders, and even cults can shape behaviour. Professionals will learn how to apply these tactics responsibly, while also recognising and defending against unethical persuasion. This book is especially valuable for those in marketing, negotiations, and stakeholder engagement. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Esta nueva alarma con cámara es casi regalada en Lo Prado (ver precio) Verisure Alarmas Leer más Undo 2. Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman explores two core modes of thinking in this groundbreaking work: fast, intuitive decision-making and slow, analytical reasoning. Through compelling insights into biases such as confirmation bias and loss aversion, Kahneman helps readers understand how judgment is often flawed, and how to correct it. A must-read for executives, analysts, and decision-makers seeking to improve cognitive clarity and strategic thinking. 3. The Laws of Human Nature – Robert Greene Drawing from psychology, history, and philosophy, Robert Greene examines why people frequently act irrationally and how to respond with emotional intelligence. The Laws of Human Nature offers tools to identify manipulation, manage egos, and convert adversaries into allies. This book is highly relevant for leaders, consultants, and professionals navigating high-stakes or politically sensitive environments. 4. Predictably Irrational – Dan Ariely Behavioural economist Dan Ariely reveals the underlying logic behind seemingly irrational behaviour in areas such as productivity, spending, and decision-making. Predictably Irrational shows how human actions, though often flawed, follow consistent, predictable patterns. Entrepreneurs, economists, product managers, and policy professionals will find valuable, research-driven insights into how people truly think and behave. 5. How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie Dale Carnegie's enduring bestseller remains one of the most influential works on relationship-building. With practical techniques like using people's names, showing genuine interest, and listening actively, How to Win Friends and Influence People helps readers foster trust and rapport, both vital for effective leadership and team dynamics. This book is essential for managers, client-facing professionals, and anyone seeking to strengthen workplace communication. 6. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking – Susan Cain Susan Cain's Quiet challenges the extrovert-centric model of leadership by showcasing the unique strengths introverts bring to organisations. From thoughtful problem-solving to deep focus and creativity, Cain reveals why introverts are key to building balanced, high-performing teams. This book is particularly insightful for team leaders, HR professionals, and introverted professionals looking to leverage their natural strengths. Why These Books Matter Human behaviour is complex, but understanding its drivers is essential for professional success. These six titles offer research-backed, actionable guidance for improving communication, decision-making, leadership, and interpersonal effectiveness. Whether you're leading a team, presenting to stakeholders, or managing client expectations, the insights in these books provide a foundation for stronger performance and more meaningful professional relationships. All six books are readily available through major bookstores and online retailers—making it easier than ever to access powerful tools to better understand and navigate human behaviour in today's evolving workplace. Ready to empower your child for the AI era? Join our program now! Hurry, only a few seats left.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'We had a song called Heat-Crazed Vole. You know, like a rat. It was pretty awful!': Iron Maiden's Steve Harris recalls his early days
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. In the 50 years since he formed Iron Maiden, bassist Steve Harris has been the band's leader and main songwriter - the author of classic heavy metal anthems including Run To The Hills, The Number Of The Beast and The Trooper. But as he admits to MusicRadar, he wrote some very strange songs in his younger days before Maiden. In his first band, Influence, Harris wrote the music but left the lyrics to a school friend named Dave Smith. 'Dave came up with a song that was called Heat-Crazed Vole,' Harris recalls. 'You know, like a rat. Which I thought was a pretty awful title.' Dave Smith also provided the title for another of Harris' early songs - Endless Pit. 'That was a terrible title as well,' Harris says. But that song ended up being hugely significant for Steve Harris and Iron Maiden. The main riff in Endless Pit was developed into a new song named Innocent Exile. Innocent Exile would eventually be featured on Iron Maiden's second album, Killers, released in 1981. But Steve Harris first performed the song with Smiler, the band he joined after his spells with Influence and another group, Gypsy's Kiss. 'I played quite a few gigs with Smiler,' Harris says. 'Maybe twenty-six, twenty-seven shows with them. 'And it was good experience playing with guys that were quite a bit older than me. It's funny because at the time, I was seventeen, and they were like mid-twenties, and I thought they were pretty old! 'Smiler was a boogie band, so they quite liked Innocent Exile, because it's got a sort of a boogie bit at the end. 'But they didn't want to play any of my other songs, and that's when it got a bit weird. "They told me, 'Oh, there's too many time changes in your songs.' And well, fair enough. I mean, I joined them! 'They were a boogie band, and that's what I joined. So I should have been content with that, really, but I wasn't. 'I wanted to introduce more of my stuff, and it wasn't really suitable for that band. 'We played a lot of covers, and because they had two guitar players I introduced a bit of Wishbone Ash. But they liked the boogie stuff like Savoy Brown and bands like that. That's what they were all about. 'So I was trying to pull them in a direction that they weren't really that comfortable with. 'And in the end I realised that the only way to do my own stuff is to leave and form my own band. Then I can do what I want.' Harris put the first line-up of Iron Maiden together in the last months of 1975. 50 years later, the band are celebrating that anniversary with the Run For Your Lives tour.
