The Big Threat: Fightback

August 13, 2025

Hi again - and welcome to Episode 3 of our new News Club series ‘The Big Threat’ - following my Churchill Fellowship travels during which I meet the experts sounding the alarm on the emerging global information wars. In this episode, I wrap up my time in the US with media literacy advocates in New York bunkering down for Trump 2.0 - and spend time with former journalists who have swapped the newsroom for the war room.

Fightback

There’s a chill wind blowing through the US mainstream media. The recent cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’, the departure of 60 Minutes’ Executive Producer citing editorial interference and the attacks generally on the Fourth Estate by the Trump Administration have left many worried we’re entering a new authoritarian era. 

And so, when I sat down in New York with some of America’s most accomplished media literacy advocates for this episode of ‘The Big Threat’, it was against the backdrop of some seismic changes to the way mis- and disinformation are being fought in the US. Or rather, how they’re being allowed to flourish. 

As media literacy advocate Michelle Ciulla Lipkin told me, there’s a real sense of fear in America right now. All of which makes the good work being done by the News Literacy Project and Poynter Institute’s MediaWise program for American youth all the more important - as you’ll discover in this episode. 

And with Australia’s teen social media ban looming, Michelle and her colleagues, who are experts in this space, have some interesting observations on how effective that’s likely to be (spoiler alert: not so much).

You can listen to the podcast here or tune in on YouTube - and hit subscribe while you’re at it. And scroll on for my highlights of our conversation. 

Interview Highlights

Highlight 1: The problem with ‘news’ on social media

Michelle Lipkin, media literacy specialist: “I think one of the biggest problems that we have is that people think they're watching news but it's just people talking. You know, it's not journalism.”

Highlight 2: On the challenges in US schools

Darragh Worland, News Literacy Project: “We have states in the country that are mandating things like the Ten Commandments being posted in every classroom.”

Highlight 3: On the Aussie social media ban

Bryce Corbett: “The Australian government will legislate a social media ban for u16s at the end of this year, but we’ve all seen the movie Footloose. We know what happens when you try to ban kids from doing things…”

Michelle: “They’re going to find a place to dance whether you want them to or not. I just don't know if we're solving the right problems with those bans. I understand the concerns about social media, I just don’t think that it’s going to make the difference in teen mental health that we want it to make.”

What are we doing about it?

That would be our world-leading daily news podcast for 7-12yos, Squiz Kids, and our media literacy program Newshounds…

Since 2020, our investment in ensuring Australia’s next generations become critical consumers of news and information online has been significant, and we’re committed to the cause.

How can you help? Recommend Squiz Kids to the parents, carers and teachers in your life - and if you fall into one of those categories yourself, dive in. We’re in more than 6,000 classrooms and many more family homes around the country, fuelling kids’ interest in the news every day.

Show us some love

If you’ve been enjoying News Club and our interview series, the best way you can support us is by sharing us with your friends/family/colleagues/boss. Share your unique link below, and we’ll know you sent them our way. Merci buckets.

Copy and paste this link and share it around: