The CDC issued its first-ever domestic travel warning for the trendy Miami neighborhood of Wynwood; the co-author of a new report explains how tech companies like Twitter, Facebook & Google are countering extremist propaganda online; plus, how feeling “American” can be a moment and a struggle for those who've emigrated to the U.S.
Zika experts weigh in on the CDC’s new travel warning
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel warning Monday, advising pregnant women and their partners not to travel to a small neighborhood where four new cases of Zika were found in Miami, Florida.
The warning is a first of its kind in the U.S. and was sparked when 10 newly infected people were reported in Florida. The total number of people infected in that state is now 14.
The CDC’s travel recommendations concerning Zika are the first to be issued in the U.S., which brings up questions on how to keep the virus from spreading to the rest of the country.
Experts on the topic weigh in with Patt Morrison today on what you need to know.
Guests:
Dr. Anthony Fauci, MD, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Dr. Neil Silverman, MD, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UCLA, perinatal consultant on Zika for the California Department of Public Health; Dr. Silverman is also a member of an ad hoc Zika Expert Group for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Libya watchers on the who, what, and why of U.S. airstrikes against ISIS in Sirte
In an effort to curtail the expansion of the Islamic State group in Libya, the United States bombed targets in the city of Sirte and caused “heavy losses” according to Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj.
The airstrikes mark the beginning of a longer campaign in Libya and were requested by Libya’s government, the U.N.-supported Government of National Accord (GNA). President Obama addressed the airstrikes during a Tuesday morning press conference with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, saying that the bombings were focused on specific targets and were authorized only after GNA forces had pushed ISIS in Sirte into a confined space.
The White House has said that U.S. assistance to Libya only extends as far as airstrikes and information sharing.
All of this comes as civil war continues to pull the country in different directions, as government-backed and jihadist militias fight for government control. On AirTalk today, we’ll explore the players on the ground in Libya, what’s caused the U.S. to offer its assistance with airstrikes, and what the results of the airstrikes have been so far.
Guests:
Mohamed Eljarh, nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East; he tweets
Omar Turbi, Libyan-American human-rights activist who lobbied the U.S. government to take part in NATO ops to save civilian lives during 2011 revolution; he was born in Benghazi and is the founder of Hillside Laguna, an alcohol and drug addiction treatment center here in Southern California
Is urban design intended to be hostile?
Pink lights that emphasize blemishes, curvy benches that deter sleepers, classical music that annoys teenagers, these are not simply bad designs, they are intentionally hostile designs aimed to manipulate certain behaviors in public.
A bench, for example, offers a place to rest between bus stops, but it could also be used for sleeping. If an urban planner wishes to deter snoozing in public spaces, placing multiple arm rests can make laying down very uncomfortable. This “hostile” design thereby restricted the use of such public goods to its “designated” function.
According to a most up-to-date version of the book "Unpleasant Design," these intentional modifications can be powerful at altering our behavior, but in doing so, they may unfairly target certain social demographics. Diving deeper, these deterrents also send a demoralizing message – while tackling the symptom of problem such as homelessness, hostile designs offer nothing in solving societal issues at large.
How do you evaluate the goals of these designs? Do you think they do a public service to the community? Or do they frustrate and upset users across the spectrum?
Guests:
Selena Savich, architect and designer and the co-editor of the book "Unpleasant Design;" she tweets at
Damien Newton, founder and editor of Streetsblog LA; he tweets at
The powerful women in politics: Washington Post reporters on the rise of the female politician
Hillary Clinton’s nomination by the Democratic Party for President of the United States was an historic moment, no doubt, for a country whose government has long been seen as an old-boys’ club.
While she’s not the only one who has helped pave the way for women to hold positions of power in politics, and while there is still a long way to go before men and women are equally represented in U.S. government, it’s undeniable that women have made huge strides in advancing visibility in Washington.
In its most recent series, “Women in Power,” Washington Post reporters tackle the topic from several angles, including why the GOP lacks high-ranking female representatives and where women are among top political donors. Today on AirTalk, we’ll chat with two of the reporters who worked on the series.
Guests:
Matea Gold, national political reporter for the Washington Post; her article in their recent “Women in Power” series is “Women are finally breaking into the top tier of political donors;” she tweets from
Elise Viebeck, national enterprise reporter for the Washington Post who wrote several articles for their “Women in Power” series; she tweets from
How Silicon Valley fights ISIS on social media
A new report out from the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue looks at three experiments backed by Twitter, Facebook and Google’s parent company Alphabet aimed at counter-messaging extremist propaganda online.
Researchers set out to explore what kinds of messages and targeting could reach nascent extremists before they become radicalized by internet propaganda.
Starting last fall, Facebook began targeting nearly half a million teenagers and young adults who posted the words “sharia” or “mujahideen” with animated pop-up videos in their news feeds.
AirTalk spoke with a co-author of the report, plus the founder of a non-profit organization that created some of the videos used in it, to find out how such counter-narrative campaigns find success.
“Extremist groups are targeting people who are vulnerable to radicalization with real precision and on scale," said Christopher J. Stewart, the co-author of the report. “Counter-narrative campaigns must match this efficacy and scale and remain innovative to all the changing online landscapes and the changing ways that extremist groups use the internet.”
Stewart stressed the importance of developing systematic ways to produce counter-narrative content, as the practice is still in its “infancy.”
What do you find to be the most psychologically effective means of reaching young people who may be caught up in the idea that extremism is a great, romantic and important cause?
It’s always really key to think about the audience when you are making a counter-narrative. Not every audience is going to have the same response to a certain piece of content as others.
Equally important is the credibility of the messenger. It might be that governments aren‘t always best placed to tell, for example, young Muslims in America to not join ISIS. It might be that there are more credible messengers in their community that should deliver that message.
This is why we did the Google report: it’s figuring out what is impactful. It’s building an assessment framework. You have to try things before you know if they work or not.
Mohamed Ahmed, widely known as “Average Mohamed,” is the founder, chairman and executive director of an eponymous non-profit dedicated to creating a counter-dialogue to terrorism. He creates brief animated videos that challenge the ideals of Islamic extremists.
“We take that extremist value, and we shoot it down ... with values that are anti-extremist,” Ahmed said. “In other words, a counter-narrative. We make our message, and we expose that message to kids from ages 8 to 16 on social media for them to think about it. ... Our goal is to go ahead and create that narrative that says ‘this has nothing to do with our faith, everything to do with extremism, and that is wrong.’”
Several of his videos were funded by the ISD and used in their studies. He collaborated with the institute, Google, Twitter and Facebook to create algorithms that show his videos to people who use terminology that may suggest sympathy to extremist organizations.
In practice, how does this work?
Basically, for anyone who puts in the word “jihad” or “mujahideen” or “Islamic State” [to Facebook, Twitter, or Google] it would pop up. What some of these kids are looking for is Islamic State videos. The goal is to go ahead and say, “Look, here is a competition. Here’s a different message. Compete. Let’s hear these values. Let’s think deeply about them, and then figure out which pathway you want to go.” That was the main purpose of this whole counter-narrative program.
I do outreach ... and you won’t believe how many kids come up to me and say, “Look. We didn’t know. We just didn’t know that these values exist within our faith and these values exist within our consciousness. The fact that you are making [these videos] helps me out a lot.” Or, “It helps my friend out a lot.” Usually that’s what they say. ... Parents have come up to me and told me the same thing. So it does work.
[Parents] use [my videos] because they are trying to have this conversation with their kids, and they don’t know how. ... No parent in my community believes their child is going to be an ... extremist. So they don’t talk to their kids about it. Here’s an opportunity where they can actually talk about it, and talk about our values, which are the majority of values, in a way that is acceptable and the kid can understand.
Ahmed said he has received death threats from YouTube users whose profiles feature Islamic State insignias. He has about 25 videos, and he hopes to create at least as many new ones before the end of the year.
These interviews were edited for clarity.
Guests:
Christopher J. Stewart, co-author of the report and a Programme Associate at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue
Mohamed Ahmed, Founder, Chairman and Executive Director, Average Mohamed, a non-profit organization seeking to create a counter dialogue to terrorism
What makes you feel American?
We all know that feeling a sense of national pride is full of complexity.
While American identity isn’t defined by one thing, there are moments that bring that feeling to light, like lighting sparklers on the Fourth of July or voting for the first time. For people who’ve emigrated to the U.S. or even first-generation Americans, feeling “American” is often a struggle, and pieced together by events that may seem small, but make a big personal impact.
In a recent “New York Times” article, Jana Prikryl, who came to the U.S. at age 9 as a Czechoslovakian refugee, recounted when getting her first pair of jeans helped ease her mind about fitting in--a feeling everyone craves no matter where they’re from.
Things like wearing jeans, celebrating national holidays or eating a PB&J may feel inconsequential to people who’ve always felt “American,” but for those willing to leave behind their culture for their American identity, these are things that may create a sense of belonging, in addition to big changes like making English their primary language.
But fitting in is a double-edged sword. Terms like “melting pot” can be deemed as offensive, alluding to the idea that people’s cultural backgrounds should be compromised to become more “American.”
What is the thing that makes you feel “American”? Does being “American” mean you have to give something up or does it fill you with pride?
Guest:
Ilaf Esuf, senior staff, opinion columnist at The Daily Californian and author of the article, “Feeling American: Stale Off the Boat”