The Real News Network and Project Censored present – “United States of Distraction: Fighting The Fake News Invasion” A Documentary Film (64 min)

The Real News Network will host a screening of the new documentary film by Project Censored, the Media Freedom Foundation, and Hole in the Media Productions, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with some of the filmmakers and participants including Abby Martin, Nolan Higdon, Eleanor Goldfield, and Mickey Huff. The event is hosted by The Real News Network’s Jaisal Noor. Co-sponsored by City Lights Books and Seven Stories Press.

When:

Tuesday October 13, Live online 9 P.M. to 11 P.M. Eastern, 6 P.M. to 8 P.M. Pacific using the youtube video below.

The Film:

Student filmed and produced, United States of Distraction: Fighting The Fake News Invasion chronicles critical media literacy scholars, students, and journalists that provide contextual analysis for understanding the current rise of the so-called “fake news” phenomenon. In addition to deconstructing fake news, the film reminds us that this current wave of disinformation is not a new development, but rather, a form of propaganda. The interviews provided in the film offer solutions for mitigating the pernicious influence of false content on America’s democratic institutions. Edited and narrated by Abby Martin, with direction from Nolan Higdon, Mickey Huff, and Andy Lee Roth.

Host:

Jaisal Noor is a host, producer, and reporter for TRNN. With his expertise in education policy and systemic inequity, he focuses on both local Baltimore and national issues. He mainly grew up in the Baltimore area and studied modern history at the University of Maryland, College Park. Before joining TRNN, he contributed print, radio, and TV reports to Free Speech Radio News, Democracy Now! and The Indypendent.

The Panel:

Abby Martin is a visual artist and anti-imperialist journalist. She is the co-host of Media Roots Radio and creator of The Empire Files, an investigative documentary series through the lens of US empire. Working with Project Censored, she was the lead editor and narrator of the film “United States of Distraction: Fighting the Fake News Invasion.” Her feature length documentary film “The Empire Files: Gaza Fights for Freedom” was released in 2019.

Dr. Nolan Higdon is an author and university lecturer of history and media studies. Higdon’s areas of concentration include youth culture, news media history, and critical media literacy. He sits on the boards of the Action Coalition for Media Education (ACME) and Northwest Alliance For Alternative Media And Education. His most recent publications include United States of Distraction (co-author with Mickey Huff, City Lights, 2019) and The Anatomy of Fake News: A Critical News Literacy Education (University of California Press, 2020). He is co-host of the Along the Line podcast with “Dr. Dreadlocks” Nicholas Baham III, and a longtime contributor to Project Censored’s annual book, Censored. In addition, he has been a contributor to Truthout and CounterPunch; and a source of expertise for the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and numerous television news outlets.

Eleanor Goldfield is a creative radical, journalist and filmmaker. Her reporting work has appeared on Press TV, RT America, and Free Speech TV where she produced and hosted the weekly radical news show, Act Out! for five years. Her print work has appeared via Mint Press News, ROAR, Popular Resistance, Truthdig and more. Her first documentary, “Hard Road of Hope,” covers past and present radicalism in the resource colony known as West Virginia. The film has garnered international praise, a best woman filmmaker award and has Official Selection laurels in eight film festivals including Cannes Independent. Currently, she is the host of the podcast Act Out! and the co-host of the podcast Common Censored along with Lee Camp as well as the Silver Threads Podcast with carla bergman. She regularly contributes to several other podcasts including By Any Means Necessary, Economic Update with Richard Wolff, Fault Lines and more. See more of her work at ArtKillingApathy.com and her film HardRoadofHope.com.

Mickey Huff is director of Project Censored and the president of the Media Freedom Foundation. He is professor of social science and history as well as chair of journalism at Diablo Valley College. He is co-editor the annual volume of the Censored book series for Seven Stories Press. His most recent books include United States of Distraction: Media Manipulation in Post-Truth America (and what we can do about it), co-authored with Nolan Higdon, published by City Lights Books in San Francisco (2019), and Censored 2020: Through the Looking Glass, co-edited with Andy Lee Roth (2019). Huff is executive producer and host of The Project Censored Show, a weekly syndicated public affairs program he founded with former Project Censored director Peter Phillips in 2010. The program originates from the historic studios of KPFA, Pacifica Radio, in Berkeley CA, and airs on 50 stations around the US and is also now a podcast online.