The internet promised a more informed society where anyone could share knowledge freely. But has it instead created a crisis of trust - where expertise is constantly challenged, and huge numbers of us struggle to discern fact from fiction?
Welcome to Ruined By The Internet? - the show where we examine how technology is shaping modern life - whether we want it to or not.
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We're joined by Terry Flew - Professor of Digital Communication & Culture and Co-Director of the Centre for AI, Trust & Governance at the University of Sydney - whose research sits at the exact intersection of media, technology, and why we've stopped believing what we read.
In this episode we investigate the concept of mediated trust and how the internet broke it, examine the battle between social media and traditional journalism for credibility, explore how AI is accelerating the misinformation crisis, and ask whether critical thinking is enough to navigate a digital world specifically designed to exploit our trust.
(00:00) Introduction to mediated trust and the information crisis
(01:26) How media and misinformation have evolved together
(01:37) What mediated trust actually means and why it's breaking down
(06:06) The crisis of trust in institutions: is it terminal?
(07:39) How algorithms decide what we trust without us realising
(09:28) Trust in Australian media: a case study in collapse
(14:10) Journalists versus influencers: who's actually shaping what we believe?
(17:57) Defamation, power dynamics, and who gets to control the narrative
(19:27) How media trust and consumption patterns are shifting in real time
(22:29) The polarising impact of celebrity culture on information credibility
(24:25) AI's role in information processing: help or accelerant?
(30:16) Navigating human versus machine communication in a trust vacuum
(33:09) What restoring trust in information sources would actually require
Key takeaways:
• The Evolution of Mediated Trust: Trust is increasingly mediated by a complex, shifting landscape of digital platforms and algorithmic systems that fundamentally transform how information is delivered, filtered, and perceived for better or worse.
• Vulnerability of Scientific and Institutional Discourse: When complex institutional findings are flattened by social media mechanics, it creates fertile ground for scepticism, allowing partisan narratives to overshadow objective facts.
• Asymmetry Between Information and Knowledge: True knowledge requires critical evaluation and context, yet algorithmic structures often incentivise users to substitute comprehensive understanding with rapid, surface-level information consumption.
• Danger of the Partisan Information Diet: To combat the echo-chamber effect, users must actively vary their information diet, critically interrogate source credibility, and verify algorithmic or AI-generated links rather than accepting them at face value.
If this episode got you thinking, check out:
Common Ground: From Dialogue to Digital Battlefield?
https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/ODkzNWY5Y2UtYTFmMy00NGQxLTk1YWMtMjk2ZDNkYjg0NDU4
Journalism & News: From Fact-Checking to Attention-Seeking?
https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/MmJlMjUwNTAtNDQzNy00ZWQ0LWFkOWYtMTJhM2IwNzM1NGRh
Broadcast Television: The Digital Dismantling of an Entire Industry?
https://pod.link/1825601333/episode/OTc0YmNmYzItMTI4ZC00OTcwLTk0YWYtYjdjNjY2MTYxYmFj
Guest links – Terry Flew
University profile: https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/about/our-people/academic-staff/terry-flew.html
Podcast: https://mediated-trust-arts.sydney.edu.au/programs/time-for-trust-podcast-series/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terryflew/
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