From Endless Thread: Gen Z wants you to take political action, one TikTok at a time

From Endless Thread: Gen Z wants you to take political action, one TikTok at a time

Author: WIRED September 26, 2024 Duration: 32:18
Gen Z is over it. The youngest generation of adults is inheriting a climate crisis, the ongoing fallout from a global pandemic, a polarized political landscape, and a tenuous economic reality.  And many Gen Z members, a generation more likely to identify as progressive than conservative, are ready for something to give. Enter: Gen Z for Change — a youth-led non-profit that brands itself as, "the place where the creator economy and progressive politics intersect on social media." The group leverages a hundreds-deep network of social media creators to spread calls to action over TikTok. They've also pulled on the programming expertise within their team to develop a caché of semi-automatic tools that take the guesswork out of engaging with their political agenda. Their latest tool, "Ceasefire Now!!" takes these efforts one step further — resulting in, by Gen Z for Change's count, two million emails calling for a ceasefire in Gaza hitting the inboxes of elected representatives in Washington every day.

Navigating today's political landscape means understanding the forces that shape it online, where the lines between news, conspiracy, and entertainment are increasingly blurred. WIRED Politics Lab is a weekly exploration of this digital arena, hosted by WIRED's own reporters. They don't just recount the headlines; they delve into the mechanics of internet extremism and the spread of disinformation, examining how these phenomena influence real-world politics and policy. Each episode functions as a guided tour through a complex and often chaotic information ecosystem. You'll hear conversations grounded in factual reporting and research, designed to unpack the week's most pressing and puzzling developments. The goal is to provide more than just analysis-it's about equipping you with context and clarity. This podcast offers tools to critically assess the narratives flooding our feeds, helping to distinguish signal from noise. Tune in for a substantive, sometimes surprising look at how politics operates in the age of algorithms and viral campaigns, and leave with a sharper understanding of the digital currents driving our collective future.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 37

WIRED Politics Lab
Podcast Episodes
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