How Politics And The Media Crashed Our Democracy
Episode description
Political insider Tom Baldwin shares worrying insights from behind the curtain of power, and warns that we are in danger of pressing ‘delete’ on liberal democracy altogether.
Having interviewed everyone from Tony Blair to Michael Gove, top journalists to Russian bloggers, and tech giant execs to online activists, Tom describes a vicious battle for control of the news agenda, at the expense of public trust and the value of truth. He visits the RSA to show how technological change has hollowed out space for virulent new populist alternatives, including the so-called ‘alt-right’ and ‘alt-left’. And he warns that not only extremists, but also the progressive centre, may now decide to press ‘delete’ on liberal democracy altogether.
This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 12th July 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/07/how-politics-and-the-media-crashed-our-democracy
NB: At 28 mins 40 secs Tom Baldwin refers to a survey that revealed popular misunderstandings of UK population figures. The 5% statistic quoted refers to the percentage Muslim population of the UK. The survey can be found here:
https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/perceptions-are-not-reality-what-world-gets-wrong
The latest ONS UK population figures can be found here:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/ukpopulationbycountryofbirthandnationality/2017