On today’s episode of The Confluence:
Events held in Pittsburgh aim to help others combat misinformation and disinformation in elections
(0:00 - 8:53)
In addition to all of the contests for the U.S. House, state Senate and House seats in November’s election, there are two critical races taking place: One for a new governor of Pennsylvania, and a new U.S. Senator to represent the commonwealth. Information is key for voters to make their choices, but what happens when the information shared is inaccurate?
The University of Pittsburgh’s Cyber Institute and the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh are hosting two events this week about misinformation and disinformation, and how authoritarian governments are influencing Pennsylvania elections.
“It's hard, because one of the ironies of the digital world is the consumers of information digitally give way more credence to what they see than they should,” says David Hickton, former U.S. Attorney for Western Pennsylvania and the founding director of Pitt’s Cyber Institute. “Ironically, they don't put the same level of scrutiny that they would in interpersonal conversations like we're having right here.”
Hickton says his work now includes attempting to both debunk and “pre-bunk” disinformation shared to intentionally misinform others.
New safe house for survivors of sex trafficking will open at the end of the year
(9:00 - 16:06)
In 2020, Pennsylvania ranked 12th nationally for the number of human trafficking cases, according to the National Human Trafficking hotline.
To combat the issue, local nonprofit Refuge for Women Pittsburgh has purchased a plot of land to open a new emergency home for victims of sex trafficking.
Theresa Golden, executive director of Refuge for Women Pittsburgh, says the emergency home will give trafficking survivors a safe and stable place to be for up to 90 days while they recover.
“A lot of the women have been drugged or have an addiction through that trafficking time, and so we use that as a period of detox to help them come off of those medications or those drugs and then be able to then picture, do I want to go back to school? Do I want to learn a trade?” says Golden.
Refuge for Women plans to open its emergency home by the end of this year.
Congressional hearings for Jan. 6 attack are operating with more ‘flair’ than usual hearings
(16:09 - 22:30)
The hearings regarding the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol have captured national attention through the summer.
At the close of the most recent hearing on July 21, the top-ranking Republican member on the committee investigating the attack, Representative Liz Cheney, said, “The case against Donald Trump in these hearings is not made by witnesses who were his political enemies. It is instead a series of confessions by Donald Trump’s own appointees.”
WESA legal analyst David Harris, a University of Pittsburgh professor of law, says the hearings have included much more “scripted television show marshaling” than past congressional hearings.
“You don't have a witness going off script. [The Committee is] able to select exactly what they want the audience to see and hear, and it all goes with a sort of dramatic flair,” says Harris. “It's quite different from the usual congressional hearings.”
Harris says the committee’s goal has been to clearly show former president Donald Trump is unfit to run for president again, and that he is the ultimate instigator and motivator of the Jan. 6 insurrection. However, Harris says it’s still unclear whether Trump will be indicted.
The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. Tune in Monday to Thursday at 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. to hear newsmakers and innovators take an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region. Find more episodes of The Confluence here or wherever you get your podcasts.
