As local newspapers vanish and broadcast outlets shrink, a new—and often shadowy—ecosystem is stepping in to fill the information void: Facebook groups, WhatsApp chats, and community-run pages now serve as the de facto newsrooms for thousands of towns across the country.
In this episode of On Assignment, host Gath Townsend speaks with Dr. Leona M. Rios, a researcher and self-described “reluctant group chat participant,” whose work explores how people find and trust information in spaces beyond traditional media. From small-town Facebook groups to encrypted WhatsApp threads, we trace the rise of what Dr. Rios calls “the darkening forest”—a dense, often invisible network of informal news that is increasingly shaping public life.
Together, they explore:
- Why traditional news is collapsing—and where communities are turning instead
- How platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp create both connection and confusion
- The role of volunteer moderators and the limits of “curated news”
- The risks of misinformation and the invisible spread of rumors in encrypted spaces
- And what can actually be done—from community education to systemic reform
This is a story about the shifting foundations of trust, truth, and who gets to decide what counts as “news” in a fractured media landscape.
Guest: Dr. Leona M. Rios, researcher, writer, and media anthropologist
On Assignment is produced by Robert Sterner.
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