<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Getty/Monica Schipper</span></p><p class="caption">Henry Blodget, cofounder, CEO, and editor-in-chief of Business Insider.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The future of <keyword id="6354777" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Media">media</keyword> looks like it's going to be a fascinating place, as new technologies keep disrupting traditional storytelling and publishers and editors grow nimbler in their efforts to keep up. At IGNITION 2017, data and marketing company <a href="https://www.sailthru.com">Sailthru</a> sponsored talks with some of the leaders of the media world to get their insights. Here are just a few of the highlights:</p><p><strong>Claudia Grimaldi Marks,</strong> senior art director and content producer at Getty Images, sat down with <strong>Piera Gelardi, </strong>cofounder and executive creative director at Refinery29; <strong>Denise Bidot,</strong> model and founder of the No Wrong Way Movement; and<strong> Sarah Sophie Flicker,</strong> national organizer of the Women's March, all to discuss the past year in women's issues, and how each is evolving a platform to reach audiences.</p><p>Flicker, a moving force behind this year's record-breaking Women's March, discussed the power of social media to communicate with audiences. "Social media has been amazing at creating an inclusive place and platform for people who didn't normally have a voice," she said.</p><p>Much of the organizing for the Women's March happened on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Flicker said many of the discussions that took place there would've been impossible in another setting.</p><p>Plus-size women make up 67% of the population but are represented in 2% of images in mainstream media. Refinery29 worked with Getty Images on the "<a href="http://www.refinery29.com/2017/10/177989/67-project-recommit-plus-size-women">67% Project</a>" to rectify that disparity, producing over 800 photos featuring plus-size models of all body types, races, and backgrounds, and made the collection available to publishers everywhere. "You can't be what you can't see," Marks said.</p><p>For Bidot, being a plus-size model means being an activist. "There's no wrong way to be a woman" is the root of the inclusivity movement she's building, which now includes men, too.</p><h2><strong>The new front porch</strong></h2><p><strong>Nirav Tolia,</strong> founder and CEO of Nextdoor, spoke with Business Insider's <strong>Pete Spande</strong> about building another kind of grassroots community. Nextdoor is a private social network used by 90% of neighborhoods in the US and has expanded to the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany.</p><p>A different take on social media, the value proposition of Nextdoor is all about utility. Neighbors share recommendations and intel, including local services, job and housing opportunities, lost pets, and crime concerns. They use the platform to help one another during crises like this year's hurricanes, floods, and fires. And public agencies such as police and fire departments have leveraged Nextdoor for more efficient, targeted crisis communication.</p><p>Since the network is private, there's no marketing or SEO, and yet Nextdoor has achieved an astonishing 100% growth rate each of the past six years since its founding by word of mouth and neighbors inviting neighbors.</p><h2>Surviving the Media Apocalypse</h2><p><strong>Troy Young,</strong> global president of Hearst Digital Media, and <strong>Kate Lewis,</strong> senior vice president and editorial director of Hearst Digital Media, discussed the challenges and excitement of taking the magazine business digital.</p><p>"New rising out of the old" is part of Hearst's DNA, and Young said the Hearst team has evolved to be nimble at producing content across multiple endpoints while keeping the brand's core values and message intact.</p><p>Lewis' editorial team, on the other hand, is enjoying the fast-paced change. The concern for many editors was the constant talk of pivoting to video, but Lewis said she has found success training traditional editorial staff to create their own videos and that it's made everyone more engaged and excited about their jobs.</p><h2><strong>The data-science imperative: practical applications for 2018</strong></h2><p><strong>Jason Grunberg,</strong> vice president of marketing at Sailthru, walked us through some great examples of how leading content companies are using data and data science to drive product innovation, including adopting personalization as a core strategy and seamlessly embedding commerce into content environments.</p><p>For example, if you want to optimize the engagement of your users, the email, web, and mobile experiences should be connected so that any one user should not be served the same content across those three platforms, making for a better, personalized user experience and enhanced monetization opportunities.</p><h2><strong>The second Golden Age of Audio</strong></h2><p><strong>Alex Blumberg</strong>, CEO and cofounder of podcasting company Gimlet Media, left public radio to start Gimlet three years ago. In a meta move, Gimlet's first podcast, "StartUp," chronicled the process of starting the company. Blumberg recorded everything from conversations with his wife (typically about how bad an idea starting Gimlet was) to every investor meeting. "StartUp" struck a nerve and led to Gimlet's first funding round, as well as an ABC series based on the podcast starring Zach Braff as Blumberg.</p><p>Another Gimlet podcast Homecoming will be an Amazon Studios series next summer starring Julia Roberts. And Richard Linklater is directing a movie starring Robert Downey Jr. based on an episode of "Reply All." According to Blumberg, podcasts are like comic books in their ability to spawn valuable intellectual property beyond the initial platform.</p><h2><strong>Image is everything</strong></h2><p>Great imagery and storytelling start with the lens and the artistry of the cinematographer.</p><p>According to Canon's <strong>Larry Thorpe</strong>, TV is experiencing a renaissance, and the sheer volume of high-end programming and fierce competition between networks like FX, HBO, NBC, and OTT services like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu foster a creative environment where imaging and production values are ever more important. Netflix's "The Crown" - shot and streamed in 4K - and HBO's "Young Pope" are good examples of the race for spectacular visual quality.</p><p>Another frontier of innovation is enabled by new camera technology that allows you to shoot and broadcast images that you couldn't see in person, such as nocturnal animals captured in total darkness with zero lighting.</p><h2><strong>Making Reality Great Again: The future of virtual, augmented, and mixed</strong></h2><p><strong>Dave Meeker,</strong> vice president of Isobar, and <strong>Rob Ruffler,</strong> vice president of Viacom NEXT, presented an overview of virtual-, augmented-, and mixed-reality technologies and explained the differences between them. They talked about the future hardware and platforms that promise to make VR and AR more accessible and therefore more mainstream.</p><p>That said, the uptake of these technologies is dependent on killer content. They showed a music video they collaborated on with Billy Corgan, of Smashing Pumpkins fame, for his single "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36_4dx_0Qdk">Aeronaut</a>," the first video ever shot inside of virtual reality.</p><p><strong>IGNITION 2018</strong> will be here before you know it! Stay tuned for exciting announcements and updates.</p><p class="tagline"><div id="categorypromo" style="border:1px solid silver; min-height:90px; padding:10px;vertical-align:top;"><a href="http://read.bi/future-of-media"></a><strong>EXCLUSIVE FREE SLIDE DECK:</strong><br>The Future of Media by Henry Blodget and the BI Intelligence Research Team.<br><strong><a href="http://read.bi/future-of-media">Get the Slide Deck Now »</a></strong></br></br></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tiny-buttons-rivets-jeans-2016-11">What those tiny rivets on your jeans are for</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Media's brightest minds discussed video, industry newcomers, and emerging platforms at IGNITION 2017

<p class="source"><span>Andy Kropa/Invision/AP</span></p><p class="caption">Michael Barbaro, host of The New York Times' "The Daily" podcast, at the 22nd Annual Webby Awards on May 14, 2018.</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Podcasts exploded in 2019, with politics-themed shows at the front of the pack.</li><li>You can find everything from interviews with top policymakers and analysts to meticulously produced deep dives into the news.</li><li>Below, we've included the political podcasts we couldn't stop listening to this year, including "Pod Save America" by Crooked Media, "Code Switch" by NPR, "The Daily" by The New York Times, and others.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime?module=article&amp;area=summary">Click here for more BI Prime stories.</a></li></ul><p>If the golden age of television is, in fact, <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2019/10/golden-age-of-tv-is-over-streaming-wars.html">coming to an end</a>, at least we're still in the golden age of podcasts. Between <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spotify-may-acquire-gimlet-media-2019-2">Spotify's $230 million deal for Gimlet</a> and seemingly every celebrity <a href="https://luminarypodcasts.com/shows?country=US">starting their own show</a>, 2019 was the year of the pod. </p><p>This was in no small part due to our undying appetite for politics, with questions of governance, power, and old-fashioned palace intrigue seemingly permeating every genre, from news to comedy to interviews. This year, we've chosen our 10 favorite political podcasts, ranging from newcomers to veteran shows that built the industry. Even if it means listening on 3X speed, these are all shows worth checking out to stay informed on the constant barrage of the news cycle. </p><h1>1. "<a href="https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-america/">Pod Save America</a>" by Crooked Media</h1><p class="source"><span><a href="https://getcrookedmedia.com/here-have-a-podcast-78ee56b5a323">Crooked Media</a></span></p><p class="caption">"Pod Save America."</p><p>The former Obama staffers spun their Ringer show "<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/keepin-it-1600/id1111751047">Keepin' it 1600</a>" into the massive podcast network/event business/political machine <a href="https://crooked.com/">Crooked Media</a> after the 2016 elections. The enterprise is now home to over a dozen different shows, but the flagship one remains "Pod Save America," hosted by the original "Keepin' it 1600" bros: Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor. </p><p>Twice a week, they discuss current events, interview policy experts and pundits, and generally make us wish we were having as much fun as they are. The other Crooked Media shows veer into comedy, activism, and occasionally sociological analysis of the state of America. Favreau, Lovett, and Vietor each have separate shows on the side, and they've recruited heavy-hitters such as DeRay Mckesson and Ana Marie Cox to have their own programs. The podcasts inspire the type of warm, hopeful feelings that their old boss tried to inspire - not always appropriate for the chaotic times, but an escape when things feel too dire. </p><h1>2. "<a href="https://theintercept.com/podcasts/intercepted/">Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill</a>" by The Intercept</h1><p class="source"><span>The Intercept</span></p><p class="caption">"Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill."</p><p>Jeremy Scahill takes a markedly different approach than the Pod Save America hosts. Scahill is a Polk Award-winning investigative journalist famous for his war coverage and work on the pioneering show "Democracy Now!" He went on to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/02/10/greenwald-the-intercept/5364547/">found The Intercept with Glenn Greenwald in 2014</a>, an online news publication that covers global abuses of power through national security, migration, the environment, and everything in between. </p><p class="source"><span>The Intercept</span></p><p class="caption">Jeremy Scahill.</p><p>Scahill brings his investigative and adversarial approach to his weekly podcast "Intercepted," which he started in January 2017. Each episode, Scahill brings on different guests, from The Intercept journalists to high-profile thinkers and experts to highlight key issues happening around the world. On one recent episode, Scahill hosted the legendary activist Naomi Klein to talk about her new book on the Green New Deal. On another, Scahill speaks with the mother of Reality Winner, the first whistleblower charged under Donald Trump, currently in prison for allegedly leaking NSA documents (<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2017/06/06/did-the-intercept-bungle-nsa-leak/">to The Intercept</a>). The Intercept also has another podcast, "<a href="https://theintercept.com/podcasts/deconstructed/">Deconstructed</a>," hosted by the British journalist Mehdi Razan that offers an alternative take on American and global political news. </p><h1>3. "<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/">Code Switch</a>" by NPR</h1><p>"Code Switch" began in 2013 as an NPR blog - with the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/04/08/176064688/how-code-switching-explains-the-world">inaugural post</a> written by former HuffPost editor Gene Demby - with frequent contributions to NPR's stable of shows. In 2016, Code Switch <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/477341009/code-switch-podcast-launch">launched its own podcast</a>, hosted by the founding team members Demby and Shereen Marisol Meraji. </p><p class="source"><span>NPR</span></p><p class="caption">Shereen Marisol Meraji.</p><p>The show focuses on themes of race, ethnicity, and identity, working to tackle pervasive cultural questions through a combination of conversation and analysis. The show is driven by its sharp commentary, engaging hosts, and open approach to listener education. Topics often use lighter subjects to help explain deeper societal questions, like the role of "Dora the Explorer" in pushing for multicultural children's programming. Other episodes don't shy away from controversial topics, from Israel to Black Lives Matter. Nothing is taboo, but the hosts and guests use levity and empathy to welcome in a wide audience.  </p><h1>4. "<a href="https://redscarepodcast.libsyn.com/">Red Scare</a>" by Anna Khachiyan, Dasha Nekrasova, and Meg Murnane</h1><p>"<a href="https://soundcloud.com/chapo-trap-house">Chapo Trap House</a>" came on to the podcasting scene in March 2016, half a year before the US political status quo collapsed. Their brand of DIY, sardonic, and above all else, unapologetically leftist commentary soon became mainstream, with a thriving Patreon page and a number of other shows following in their steps. One of these was "Red Scare," which similarly blended an ironic brand of humor with political punditry. </p><p class="source"><span>Chapo Trap House</span></p><p class="caption">"Chapo Trap House."</p><p>Unlike "Chapo Trap House," though, which is hosted by all men minus cohost Amber Frost, "Red Scare"'s hosts are all women. The show frequently addresses themes of feminism and capitalism, skewering the "Lean In" brand of feminism represented by the Sheryl Sandbergs and Audrey Gelmans of the world. "Red Scare" <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/caroline-calloway-spilled-the-tea-on-natalie-red-scare-taping-2019-9">recently hosted a live show</a> at Brooklyn's Union Hall with the infamous influencer Caroline Calloway, demonstrating how politics and culture are entirely inextricable.  </p><h1>5. "<a href="https://slate.com/podcasts/political-gabfest">Political Gabfest</a>" by Slate</h1><p>One of the longest-running political podcasts, "Political Gabfest" <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/gabfest/2014/12/when_did_slate_start_the_political_gabfest_watch_bazelon_dickerson_and_plotz.html">started in December 2005</a> with hosts John Dickerson, Emily Bazelon, and David Plots talking about the Iraq War and the nomination of Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito (how far we've come). The three cohosts have gone on to different full-time jobs: Dickerson is now a correspondent at "60 Minutes," Emily Bazelon is at The New York Times Magazine, and Plotz is the CEO of the off-beat travel publication Atlas Obscura. </p><p class="source"><span>Slate</span></p><p class="caption">"Political Gabfest."</p><p>Almost 15 years later, they're still hosting "Gabfest," releasing a weekly podcast that combines news commentary, interviews, and, of course, informal banter. Each episode focuses on three different subjects. A recent show discussed Trump's move to abandon the Kurds and the recent Democratic presidential debate before having on the Yale law professor Daniel Markovitz, who has been making the podcast rounds recently with his new book, "<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/548174/the-meritocracy-trap-by-daniel-markovits/">The Meritocracy Trap</a>." </p><h1>6. "<a href="http://wethefifth.com/">The Fifth Column</a>" by Michael Moynihan, Matt Welch, and Kmele Foster</h1><p>"The Fifth Column" is hosted by Vice News' <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/contributor/michael-moynihan">Michael Moynihan</a>, Reason's <a href="https://reason.com/people/matt-welch/">Matt Welch</a>, Freethink's <a href="https://twitter.com/kmele">Kmele Foster</a>, and produced by Business Insider's own politics editor <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/anthony-l-fisher">Anthony Fisher</a>. The podcast, which has been running for over 150 episodes, brings on top commentators from across the political spectrum in media and politics for heterodox converations about how breaking news and ongoing political debates are covered. In a recent episode, host Moynihan spoke with New Yorker writer Patrick Radden Keefe about his new book "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Say-Nothing-Murder-Northern-Ireland/dp/0385521316">Say Nothing</a>" on the troubles in Northern Ireland, which was just nominated for a National Book Award. </p><p class="source"><span>"The Fifth Column"</span></p><p class="caption">"The Fifth Column."</p>In another episode, the hosts interviewed Coleman Hughes, a college student and writer for the controversial publication Quillette, who testified opposite Ta-Nehisi Coates at Congress on the issue of reparations. In December 2018, the show staged a live recording at NYC's Comedy Cellar with guests Michael Barbaro of "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-daily">The Daily</a>" and Jody Avirgan of the "<a href="https://30for30podcasts.com/">30 for 30</a>" podcast.<h1>7. "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-daily">The Daily</a>" by The New York Times</h1><p class="source"><span>The New York Times</span></p><p class="caption">"The Daily."</p><p>New York Times national politics reporter Michael Barbaro <a href="https://www.adweek.com/digital/with-three-months-to-go-new-york-times-introduces-election-podcast-the-run-up/">first started</a> a podcast called "The Run Up" in August 2016, focusing on the months before the election. The month of Trump's inauguration, he began recording "The Daily," which was an immediate hit. About two million listeners tune in every day to the 20-to- 30-minute episodes, which often break down the immediate news of the day while focusing on a deeper reported story, usually involving another New York Times reporter. </p><p>A recent episode of the show focused on the Iowa Caucus, while another explored the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi with the NYT reporter (and host of the podcast "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/podcasts/caliphate-isis-rukmini-callimachi.html">Caliphate</a>") Rukmini Callimachi. "The Daily" also does more ambitious multiepisode shows on subjects including vaping and Syria. With the success of "The Daily," the New York Times branched into a TV spinoff show called "<a href="https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/the-weekly">The Weekly</a>" earlier this year, which airs on Fox and Hulu. The New York Times also produced a <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-new-york-times/nyt-1619">podcast around Nikole Hannah-Jones' 1619 Project</a> on slavery in America, and "The Daily" has aired five episodes of the show.</p><h1>8. "<a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/topic/lawfare-podcast">The Lawfare Podcast</a>" by Lawfare</h1><p><a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/about-lawfare-brief-history-term-and-site">Founded by the journalist Benjamin Wittes</a> and two law professors in 2010, Lawfare began as a wonky blog focusing on national security in partnership with the Brookings Institution. During the presidency of Donald Trump, Lawfare took off as readers became interested in otherwise inside baseball legal analysis. In a note to readers in February 2017, Wittes wrote that "Lawfare's traffic last month exceeded traffic in January 2016 by an almost mind-boggling 1,101%." Lawfare's podcast predates this, with the <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/announcing-lawfare-podcast">first episode airing back in 2012</a>. It often airs multiple times every week, hosted by different Lawfare writers including Wittes, David Priess, Margaret Taylor, and Molly Reynolds. </p><p>Episodes focus on different Lawfare investigations, issues of national security and terrorism, and the legal questions surrounding the myriad investigations of the Trump administration. The show features the kind of high-level conversations you would expect out of a leading think tank, often featuring top scholars and analysts. In other words, a great way to sound smarter than your friends. </p><h1>9. "<a href="https://www.futuromediagroup.org/media-property/in-the-thick/">In The Thick</a>" by Futuro Media Group</h1><p class="source"><span>Futuro Media</span></p><p class="caption">"In The Thick."</p><p>Like many of the other podcasts on this list, "In The Thick" began in 2016. Its aim was to offer more diverse representation in the election coverage, with the tagline "journalists of color tell you what you're missing from the mainstream news." The podcast is hosted by Maria Hinojosa and Julio Ricardo Varela, who are both producers and directors at Latino USA, a nationally syndicated radio show on NPR. </p><p class="source"><span>Maria Hinojosa</span></p><p class="caption">Maria Hinojosa.</p><p>Latino USA and "In The Thick" are both part of the Futuro Media Group, which also includes the digital media site Latino Rebels. "In The Thick" often explores political questions through identity and ethnicity, bringing new voices to issues that are otherwise excluded. It also doesn't just focus on US news - a recent episode discussed the ongoing protests in Chile. Guests include activists, journalists, actors, and politicians.   </p><h1>10. "<a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/preetbharara">Stay Tuned with Preet</a>" by WNYC Studios</h1><p>Preet Bharara was cruising along as the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, one of the most powerful legal positions in the country (as made famous by Paul Giamatti in "Billions," rumored to be at least slightly based on Bharara). He was even in the conversation to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/26/us/politics/eric-holder-resigning-as-attorney-general.html?_r=0">become attorney general</a> after Eric Holder stepped down. When Trump was elected, he initially <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-meet-manhattan-attorney-preet-bharara-source-article-1.2892952">asked Bharara to stay in the position</a> before Jeff Sessions <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/preet-bharara-is-fired-by-trump-after-refusing-to-resign-2017-3">ordered Bharara to step down</a> in March 2017, along with the rest of the US Attorneys from the Obama administration. Bharara immediately became a political icon for the Democrats, aided by his own tweets bashing Trump. </p><p class="source"><span>Cafe Insider</span></p><p class="caption">"Stay Tuned with Preet."</p><p>He went on to start his own podcast, "Stay Tuned," in <a href="https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/preetbharara/episodes/coming-soon-stay-tuned-preet">September 2017</a>, which typically run twice a week for over an hour. On the show, he talks about salient political issues and interviews guests such as George Conway, wife of Kellyanne and avowed Trump critic. Bharara also hosts episodes of the podcast "<a href="https://cafe.com/insider/">CAFE Insider</a>" with NYU law professor and former New Jersey attorney general Anne Milgram, which are less than 20 minutes and also cover ongoing political news.  </p><h1>11. "<a href="http://podcasts.joerogan.net/">The Joe Rogan Experience</a>" by Joe Rogan</h1><p>When the comedian, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist Joe Rogan first launched his podcast in December 2009, it seemed like it would follow in the footsteps of early shows like "<a href="http://www.wtfpod.com/">WTF with Marc Maron</a>" and "<a href="https://adamcarolla.com/">The Adam Carolla Show</a>," which combined comedy with free-flowing interviews. Over the past 10 years, though, "The Joe Rogan Experience" has transcended all other genres to become a (somewhat cultish) community dedicated to questions of consciousness, wellness, and politics.</p><p>Rogan positions himself as curious, which often means having on guests that other shows would avoid, like conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. More often though, this means that Rogan's show skews libertarian - or "<a href="https://slate.com/culture/2019/03/joe-rogans-podcast-is-an-essential-platform-for-freethinkers-who-hate-the-left.html">freethinking</a>" - with guests like Democratic candidate and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, <a href="https://twitter.com/joerogan/status/1103027763768745984?lang=en">journalist Tim Pool</a>, and members of the "Intellectual Dark Web" like psychology professor <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIeFt88Hm8s">Jordan Peterson</a>. In one memorable episode in August, Bernie Sanders came on the show, which received over 10 million views on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O-iLk1G_ng">YouTube</a>.</p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-top-leaders-travel-private-planes-2019-11">Everything we know about the planes of the world's top leaders, from Trump to Merkel</a></h3>

The 11 best political podcasts of 2019

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/charlie-kirk">Charlie Kirk</a>, the president and founder of the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA, is rapidly becoming one of the most prominent figures on the right today.</li><li>Kirk's organization is popular among young conservatives but has been tied to several controversies and faced accusations of racial bias.&#xa0;</li><li>Thousands of young Trump supporters flocked to Turning Point USA's annual Student Action Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, last week.</li><li>Kirk sat down with INSIDER in December to discuss some of the criticism directed at Turning Point USA, and also why he thinks Trumpism is winning over young people.&#xa0;</li><li>"The idea of Trumpism is rooted in a philosophy that's been ignored over the last 20 or 30 years," Kirk said.</li></ul><p>WEST PALM BEACH, Florida - Charlie Kirk thinks of himself as the "luckiest 25-year-old in America."</p><p>Kirk, the president and founder of the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA, is rapidly becoming one of the most prominent figures on the right today.</p><p>He's met with and been retweeted by President Donald Trump, gained notoriety by trying to bring Kanye West over to the right, has a close friendship with Donald Trump Jr., makes regular appearances on Fox <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">News</keyword>, and has a Twitter following of over 825,o00 that seems to be growing by the minute. </p><p>Thousands of young Trump supporters flocked to Kirk's annual Student Action Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, last month to hear a slew of conservative thinkers, politicians, and media personalities offer their views on the state of the country and the future of conservatism.&#xa0;</p><p>The four-day event included speakers most Americans would recognize, such as Trump administration figures Donald Trump Jr. and Wilbur Ross - but also prominent conservative media personalities Dennis Prager, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/candace-owens-the-left-hates-america-and-trump-loves-it-2018-12">Candace Owens</a>, and Tucker Carlson, as well as "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/opinion/intellectual-dark-web.html">Intellectual Dark Web</a>" rock stars Jordan Peterson and Dave Rubin.</p><p>Kirk's nonprofit is popular among young conservatives, but has been tied to several highly public controversies and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/a-conservative-nonprofit-that-seeks-to-transform-college-campuses-faces-allegations-of-racial-bias-and-illegal-campaign-activity">faced accusations of racial bias.</a></p><p>Kirk sat down with INSIDER on the third day of the conference to discuss some of criticism directed at Turning Point USA and also why he thinks Trumpism is winning over young people.&#xa0;</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/young-trump-supporters-told-the-left-hates-america-and-destroys-everything-turning-point-usa-2018-12">Thousands of young Trump supporters are gathered in Florida to hear a simple message: the left hates America and 'destroys everything it touches'</a></em></p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><h2>'Obviously we reject any foreign adversary using any content'</h2><p>A recent <a href="https://www.axios.com/senate-reports-russian-interference-2016-election-9d0daca6-1e2d-4617-9295-f8eec61c1719.html">report from researchers at </a><a href="https://www.axios.com/senate-reports-russian-interference-2016-election-9d0daca6-1e2d-4617-9295-f8eec61c1719.html">New Knowledge</a>, which was requested by the Senate Intelligence Committee, found Russians agents seeking to influence the 2016 US presidential election via social media <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/russia-used-turning-point-usa-memes-to-wage-a-propaganda-war">routinely shared content created by Turning Point USA.</a></p><p>Kirk said he was not supportive of the Russians using Turning Point USA's content to further a propaganda war, but he said the organization "can't control who uses our stuff."</p><p>"Obviously we reject any foreign adversary using any content. Russia is an enemy of the state," Kirk said. "And we can't control who uses our stuff, obviously. Our content is seen by hundreds of millions of people a week. These foreign actors should be totally denounced and we denounce them."</p><p>When asked whether there's something about the nature of Turning Point USA's content that might have led the Russians to share it, Kirk said, "I don't know, probably not."</p><p>"I mean, we publish hundreds of pieces of content every week. I don't know what's going through their head. They're enemies of America, so how should I try to impose my perspective upon them?" he said.</p><p>Here are some examples of memes shared on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/turningpointusa/photos/?ref=page_internal">Turning Point USA's Facebook</a> page amid the 2016 presidential campaign season:</p><h2>The 'Professor Watchlist' and free speech</h2><p>A self-declared free speech absolutist, one of the more incendiary projects Kirk's organization has launched is the <a href="https://www.professorwatchlist.org/">"Professor Watchlist."</a></p><p>"The mission of Professor Watchlist is to expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom," <a href="https://www.professorwatchlist.org/about-us/">the project states on its website.</a></p><p>When asked whether keeping a list of professors whose views he doesn't agree with might undermine or contradict his push for free speech on campuses, Kirk became visibly annoyed.</p><p>"How did I know you were going to ask that? Every journalist. It's literally the same question," he said.</p><p>At that point, Kirk asked his staff to start filming the interview. He vehemently rejected the notion he's working to stifle free speech among leftists on college campuses.</p><p>"Where did I ever say I want to prevent anything? Show me one time ... I've ever said they shouldn't be allowed to talk," Kirk said.</p><p>Kirk added: "Is it watchlist or is it blacklist? Is it watchlist or is it hit list?"</p><p>The Professor Watchlist's website states Turning Point USA will "continue to fight for free speech and the right for professors to say whatever they wish" but adds that students, parents, and alumni "deserve to know the specific incidents and names of professors that advance a radical agenda in lecture halls."</p><p>Kirk said the purpose of the watchlist is "exposure" and "more speech."</p><p>"I'm doing journalist's work. I'm doing what you're supposed to be doing," he added. "How is that anything but speech?"</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><h2>'Have you ever seen a conservative shout down a liberal speaker on campus?'</h2><p>Kirk also contended that it is primarily left-wing groups or people who are working against free speech on college campuses.</p><p>"Have you ever seen a conservative shout down a liberal speaker on campus? Isn't that kind of strange though that the left does that every day and conservatives don't?" he said.</p><p>Though it's true left-leaning groups have protested and shouted down conservative speakers on college campuses and in many cases have successfully demanded they be disinvited or otherwise deplatformed, there are also examples of conservative hecklers shutting down speakers.</p><p>In October 2017, for example, pro-Trump activists interrupted a Q&amp;A with <a href="https://reason.com/blog/2017/10/16/whittier-college-speakers-trump-shutdown">California's Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Assembly Leader Ian Calderon</a>. In a more extreme case, an Orange Coast College professor who expressed disdain for the president received so many death threats she was forced to flee the state.&#xa0;</p><p>Jeffrey Sachs, a political scientist at Canada's Acadia University, documented all the cases in which <a href="https://niskanencenter.org/blog/there-is-no-campus-free-speech-crisis-a-close-look-at-the-evidence/">a professor was dismissed for political speech</a> in the US between 2015 and 2017. Sachs' analysis found liberal professors were fired more often for political speech than their conservative counterparts.&#xa0;</p><p>Despite the general concern about the policing of speech on college campuses among those on the right, some conservatives have vehemently criticized Turning Point USA's approach.</p><p>John Hardin, the director of university relations for the Charles Koch Foundation, <a href="https://www.charleskochfoundation.org/news/washington-post-free-speech/">in August said</a>, "Instead of supporting groups that put professors that they disagree with on watch lists, we support folks who take those professors to lunch, who co-teach with those professors and who collaborate with those professors."</p><p><span>Sarah Ruger, the director of Free Speech Initiatives for the Charles Koch Institute, described the Professor Watchlist as "truly McCarthyism 2.0" - a reference to Republican Sen. Joe McCarthy's infamous efforts to expose alleged communists in the 1950s.</span></p><p><span>"It's a platform that exists to put the names and the profiles of self-identified progressive professors out there and encourages conservative students to intimidate them," <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2018/08/01/daily-202-koch-network-warns-of-mccarthyism-2-0-in-conservative-efforts-to-harass-professors/5b611a871b326b0207955e90/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.3b0db2ec59c1">Ruger told The Washington Post of the watchlist.</a>&#xa0;"If there's anything political tribes can agree on today, it's that they all want to censor someone. They just disagree on who should be silenced. That's entirely antithetical to who we are."</span></p><h2>'I support ... Islamic groups to be wrong about Israel'</h2><p>Much of Kirk's concern regarding free speech on campuses seems to be centered around the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.</p><p>He said Turning Point USA supports the right of pro-Palestine campus groups who condone BDS to speak, but that it still seeks to "shut down" resolutions supporting BDS in student governments at colleges and universities across the US.&#xa0;</p><p>"We're trying to prevent a boycott, divestment, sanction, which is anti-free speech. So we're fighting the anti-free speech measures," Kirk said. "You understand, they're trying to say, 'We're trying boycott Israel, we're trying to divest from Israel and put sanctions on Israel,' which in essence is a targeted attempt to go after the singular Jewish state. So we say, 'No, that is anti-free speech.' We're trying to kill the resolution."</p><p>Though <a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech/rights-protesters/laws-targeting-israel-boycotts-fail-again-court">federal courts have held</a> that state laws in Arizona and Kansas prohibiting boycotts against Israel are in violation of the First Amendment, fourteen other states still have such laws on the books. Kirk fervently denied allegations his organization's efforts to thwart BDS are in any way anti-free speech.&#xa0;</p><p>"I support Students for Justice for Palestine to speak. I support the Muslim Student Association to speak. I support ... Islamic groups to be wrong about Israel. 100%," Kirk added.&#xa0;</p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/turning-point-usa-conference-students-islam-college-campuses-2018-12">Young Trump supporters told they need to fight terrorism on college campuses by 'exposing Islam' because all Muslims are 'radical'</a></em></p><h2>'We live in a broken culture'</h2><p>Turning Point USA claims to have a presence on <a href="https://www.tpusa.com/">over 1,000 college campuses across the US,</a>&#xa0;and Kirk is confident young people are becoming more attracted to conservatism and Trumpism.&#xa0;</p><p>"We live in a broken culture," Kirk said. "Where the conservative movement is making gains really quick and where the left is really struggling right now is that we are offering remedies for a broken culture."</p><p>Kirk pointed to young men having an "identity crisis," as well as the opioid epidemic, suicide rates, and divorce rates as some of the signs that Americans face a "broken culture."</p><p>"Where conservatives win, it's being able to have remedies to that broken culture," Kirk said. "It's not even about <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword>, it's just about making these cultural observations and saying this is what we stand for and this is who we are and I think the left is getting away from that. Because I think they're actually endorsing things that are very, very dangerous."</p><h2>'The idea of Trumpism is rooted in a philosophy that's been ignored over the last 20 or 30 years'</h2><p>Kirk seems to believe that even if Trump is not reelected in 2020, Trumpism will live on.</p><p>"The idea of Trumpism is rooted in a philosophy that's been ignored over the last 20 or 30 years, which is that Washington, DC, has grown far too powerful, that the wealthiest counties in America are all clustered around Washington, DC, that we've become way too coastal-focused, and that middle America has been suffering," Kirk said.&#xa0;</p><p>He added: "What Trump is bringing back is the sense that we can again be and we are becoming again the world superpower in every single capacity."</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>Kirk said he is not happy with all aspects of the Trump presidency, and was somewhat critical of the president's cabinet choices.</p><p>"I think less Goldman Sachs the better," Kirk said, but contended Trump has "changed the mechanics of politics."</p><p>In some ways, Kirk seems to believe Trumpism has supplanted Republicanism.&#xa0; &#xa0;</p><p>"What does 'a Republican' mean anymore?" Kirk asked. "Is it Paul Ryan? Is it Mitt Romney?"</p><h2><span>'I think we should be the Kentucky basketball of immigrants'</span></h2><p>Kirk routinely expresses solidarity with the president and his positions on Twitter, especially on the topic of immigration.</p><p>In his more recent tweets, Kirk has <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1076547932902572032">denounced Democrats</a> for not giving Trump the funding he wants for a border wall, praised Trump's decision to withdraw US troops from Syria, and expressed approval for the president "holding the line" in relation to the government shutdown.</p><p>Kirk's tweets often touch on undocumented immigration, which he's described as a <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1076470772942671872">"serious threat"</a> to the US.</p><p>He told INSIDER that his perspectives on immigration are "originally informed"<span> by the "Judeo-Christian construct."</span>&#xa0;</p><p><span>Kirk said he's not against immigration or accepting refugees, but that he doesn't like people who "are border jumpers that cut in line."&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>"I don't think you'll find a lot of conservatives that don't want to be generous and benevolent, but you have to balance that with wisdom and self-restraint," Kirk said as he explained his position on immigration. "There has to be limitations. We live in a world of finite resources."</span></p><p><span>He said the US should focus on bringing in the "best, brightest, most operational" immigrants.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>"I think we should be the Kentucky basketball of immigrants," Kirk added.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>He also defended the president's characterization of a caravan of Central American migrants as an "invasion," noting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the caravan contained violent criminals.</span></p><p><span>Kirk said, "Is that really what we want?"&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>In a November 1 <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/11/01/myth-vs-fact-caravan">news release</a>, DHS said, "There are over 270 individuals along the caravan route that have criminal histories, including known gang membership."&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>But fact-checkers have <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/11/09/trump-administrations-fuzzy-math-criminals-caravan/?utm_term=.dbb6861f7a43">expressed skepticism</a> over the vague nature of the DHS statement, and experts have contended migrants heading to the US from Central America are more often than not <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/opinion/trump-caravan-migrants-criminals.html">running away from violent crime rather than contributing to it.</a> </span></p><h2><span>If Don Jr. 'wants to be president, he could be president'</span></h2><p>Kirk's loyalty to Trump extends to the president's children.&#xa0;</p><p>He has a particularly close relationship with Trump Jr., describing him as a "good friend." Kirk said their relationship began in August 2016, not long after the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.&#xa0;</p><p><span>"He's a good friend. He's a patriot. One of the best Americans that I could possibly imagine. He's been helpful, he's dedicated, he's loyal, he's terrific," Kirk said of Trump Jr.&#xa0;</span></p><p>Kirk believes Trump Jr. could one day become president if he "wants to."</p><p>"<span>I've seen the man do things that you just don't see people in politics do," Kirk said of the president's son, including feeling bad about not taking enough selfies with people after big events.&#xa0;</span></p><p>"If [Trump Jr.] wants to be president, he could be president," Kirk said, adding, "I would help him in every possible way I could."</p><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/msnbc-host-chris-hayes-president-trump-china-trade-war-2018-12">MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Meet Charlie Kirk, the 25-year-old free speech warrior and BFF to Trump Jr. who's rapidly taking over the conservative movement

<p><em><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source">eviltomthai from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/eviltomthai/3579663737/">www.flickr.com</a></p></div><p></p></div></div>China claims victory in scrubbing rumors from Internet; critics say speech has been curtailed</em></p>
<p>BEIJING (AP) - The Chinese government has declared victory in cleaning up what it considers rumors, negativity and unruliness from online discourse, while critics say the moves have suppressed criticism of the government and ruling Communist Party.</p>
<p>Beijing launched the campaign this summer, arresting dozens of people for spreading rumors, creating new penalties for people who post libelous information and calling in the country's top bloggers for talks urging them to guard the national interest and uphold social order. At the same time, government agencies at all levels have boosted their online presence to control the message in cyberspace.</p>
<p>"If we should describe the online environment in the past as good mingling with the bad, the sky of the cyberspace has cleared up now because we have cracked down on online rumors," Ren Xianliang, vice minister of the State Internet Information Office, said during a rare meeting this week with foreign journalists.</p>
<p>A study by an Internet opinion monitoring service under the party-owned People's Daily newspaper showed the number of posts by a sample of 100 opinion leaders declined by nearly 25 percent and were overtaken by posts from government microblog accounts.</p>
<p>"The positive force on the Internet has preliminarily taken back the microphone, and the positive energy has overwhelmed the negative energy to uphold the online justice," said Zhu Huaxin, the monitoring service's general secretary, according to a transcript posted by state media.</p>
<p>Observers say the crackdown has noticeably curtailed speech by suppressing voices and triggering self-censorship, with more liberal online voices being more ginger in their criticism and posting significantly less.</p>
<p>Even Zhu suggested the campaign might have gone too far. In one example, Web users refrained from reposting information and commenting on the government response to a severe flood in the eastern city of Yuyao in early October. A year ago, they were garrulous in questioning Beijing's drainage system when a rainstorm ravaged the city. "It is a reminder that we must strike a balance between crushing online rumors and ensuring information flow," Zhu said.</p>
<p>Some critics say the moves may backfire by eliminating an effective conduit for the public to let off steam.</p>
<p>"If there's no channel for the public to express themselves, they may take to the street," said historian and political analyst Zhang Lifan, whose online accounts were recently removed without warning - possibly because he had shared historic facts that the party did not find flattering.</p>
<p>"The governments also can take pulse of the public opinion, but if no one speaks up, they will be in darkness," Zhang said. "It is so odd they are covering up their eyes and blocking their ears."</p>
<p>The rise of the Internet in China has always been followed by Beijing's efforts to rein it in, and the latest challenge has been the explosive growth in social media, particularly microblogging, which has allowed users to share firsthand accounts and opinions with great speed. Advocates of free speech have applauded the technology as a strong boost to their cause.</p>
<p>As of June this year, China's microblogging services had more than 330 million users, and WeChat, a mobile phone-based instant messaging service that allows users to share information with circles of friends or subscribers, had more than 300 million users, Ren said.</p>
<p>"The unexpected growth has caught people by surprise," Ren said.</p>
<p>Chen Ziming, a Beijing-based political analyst, said Beijing's apparent success in grabbing control of social media is a big setback for free speech.</p>
<p>"They have always been able to control newspapers, radios and TV stations, but there have been some holes in the Internet, and the microblogging was the last hole," Chen said. "They have achieved their goal. When 10 percent of the accounts are banned, additional 20 to 30 percent of the users will not speak."</p>
<p>Authorities in recent months have been arresting microbloggers on the charge of spreading rumors or disrupting the public order, including a teenager boy who raised some questions over a murder case online. Many intellectuals, writers, and journalists have seen their blogging and microblogging accounts removed altogether. A Chinese-American businessman with a strong online following was arrested for soliciting prostitutes and paraded on state television in a campaign to discredit him.</p>
<p>Chinese propaganda officials have always seen the media - new or old - as a crucial tool to support state rule and are wary of cacophony.</p>
<p>"The ecosystem for public opinion online has noticeably improved, and that has created a good environment conducive to the overall work of the party of the government," Ren said, in touting the benefits of well-managed public discourse.</p>
<p>But the historian Zhang said Beijing has failed to play by rules when it shut down critical but law-abiding microblogging accounts. "They see critics as opponents," Zhang said. "That's a stupid thing to do."</p>
<p>Despite claiming preliminary success in taking control of the Internet, Beijing is likely to roll out more regulations. In a guiding document for the next five or even 10 years, China's senior leaders have mandated that the state must set the perimeters and the tone for online opinion with "positive guidance" and "management" and that the state should "standardize" how online communication unfolds.</p>
<p>Political analysts say they predict the heavy-handed control will continue. "They are still pretty nervous about preserving stability," said Steve Tsang, a political scientist at the University of Nottingham. "Given the political environment, I don't see any relaxation."</p>
<p>But known for their ingenuity to circumvent censorship, members of the Chinese public may again push for more room in speech, said Willy Lam of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.</p>
<p>"I think the cat and the mouse game will go on. People might be afraid now, but after a while, the old pattern will resume."</p>
<div class="nc_footer">
<p>Copyright (2013) <keyword id="176712" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Associated-Press">Associated Press</keyword>. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.</p>
</div>
<p></p>

You Searched For "intellectual dark web" and got 7 results

Media's brightest minds discussed video, industry newcomers, and emerging platforms at IGNITION 2017

Business Insider

The 11 best political podcasts of 2019

Leo Schwartz

Meet Charlie Kirk, the 25-year-old free speech warrior and BFF to Trump Jr. who's rapidly taking over the conservative movement

John Haltiwanger

China Claims Victory In Scrubbing The Internet 'Clean'

Didi Tang, Associated Press

Car bomb fears and stolen prototypes: Inside Facebook's efforts to protect its 80,000 workers across the globe

Rob Price

THE COST OF WINNING: Tim Armstrong, Patch, And The Struggle To Save AOL

Nicholas Carlson

CONTROLLING CHAOS: Twitter's Wild Ride From Doodle To IPO

Alyson Shontell,Nicholas Carl…