#40 Nitin Agarwal, UA-Little Rock Professor and Social Media influence researcher, 7-18-23, Part 1: OTOH Episode 40

Glen and April welcome University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor Dr. Nitin Agarwal, the Jerry L. Maulden-Entergy Chair & Distinguished Professor in the UA-Little Rock Information Science Department. Dr. Agarwal is also the Director of the Collaboratorium for Social Media and Online Behavioral Studies (COSMOS). His work focuses on influence operations online, information environment manipulation, mis/disinformation and propaganda campaigns that primarily originate outside the US and which potentially impact US defense strategic interests. As a subject matter expert on how social media is used to impact people and societies, such as through promoting toxic polarization and other negative consequences, Dr. Agarwal was interviewed to help us better understand what he and his team have found through his research about the ways that social media is being used in nefarious ways around the world. We also explore with him ways to improve our interactions with social media in our culture. In this first episode, Nitin describes the "good, bad and ugly" behaviors on social media, tactics, techniques and procedures used for online influence campaigns, and how social media, which originated with high hopes for positive use in society, has gone down a dark path in many ways currently.