Episode 4

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Published on:

11th Jul 2020

Disinformation and Counter-Intelligence in Ukraine

Disinformation from Russia was a big subject during the 2016 election for President of the United States, and 2020 is turning out to be no different. The US isn’t the only one dealing with this issue, in fact it’s a lively topic in former Soviet states all over Eastern Europe. Ukraine has gone so far as to ban a Russian-backed media organization, who responded by labeling it an attack on free speech.

But our guests say something has to be done to combat the power of state propaganda coming from one of the worlds savviest players.

Black Diplomats is hosted by Terrell J. Starr. Find out more about Terrell and listen to other episodes at our website.

Our guests this week are:

Shireen Mitchell

Shireen is an Internet pioneer and serial founder who was born and raised in the projects of New York City, playing video games before they could be played on televisions and designing BBS boards and gopher sites prior to the Web going world wide.

She is the founder of Stop Online Violence Against Women and an expert in digital voter suppression.

digitalsista.me

Maria Romanenko

Maria Romanenko is a Ukrainian-born British-educated writer, journalist, and certified life coach. She covers a wide range of topics from politics to culture, as well as produces a weekly TV show.

www.mariaromanenko.com

Nina Jankowicz

Nina Jankowicz studies the intersection of democracy and technology in Central and Eastern Europe. Her book, HOW TO LOSE THE INFORMATION WAR, was published by Bloomsbury's IBTauris in Summer 2020. Her writing has been published by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, BuzzFeed News, The Wilson Quarterly, and others.

Nina Jankowicz at the Wilson Center

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About the Podcast

Black Diplomats
The world is full of black people, but when the mainstream media talks about the world, we hardly ever hear from them. Black Diplomats—a podcast dedicated to international politics and culture from the perspective of people of color—is going to...
Founded in 2020 and led by Terrell Jermaine Starr, Black Diplomats is the go-to podcast for those who want relatable content on global affairs that doesn’t center the perspectives of white male experts.

Few foreign policy shows are led by Black people or center the opinions, experiences and expertise of people of color. Black Diplomats is one exception. Guests are mostly people of color and people who are indigenous to the regions the episodes focus on.
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Terrell Starr

Terrell Jermaine Starr is the senior reporter at The Root, where he writes about the 2020 election and foreign policy, mostly U.S. relations with Ukraine and Russia. He is also the The Root’s 2020 correspondent and is tasked with interviewing presidential candidates and traveling to communities around the country to see who voters are eyeing to cast ballots for during the 2020 primary and the general election.

Some of the people Starr have conducted sit-down interviews with include U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, former U.S. Congressman Beto O’Rourke, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, U.S. Senator Cory Booker and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, among other politicians.

Before working at The Root, Starr was at Foxtrot Alpha, a blog that focuses on military, technology and policy. Prior to that, he worked for FUSION as a national political correspondent covering the 2016 presidential campaign. He lived Ukraine as a Fulbright fellow, and Georgia as a Peace Corps volunteer. Starr has over four years of experience living in the former Soviet Union and more than eight years working as a reporter. Starr uses his media skills to break down Russia-U.S. relations in ways that make him not sound like a Washington hack. He is a frequent guest and co-host of the popular podcast In The Thick and his work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Mother Jones and Buzzfeed.

Starr is a regularly sought after speaker on U.S.-Russian relations, Ukrainian politics and the intersection of race and politics in America.