The World and Everything in It: January 14, 2025

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Change is coming to Canada as rivals vie for the outgoing prime minister’s job. What does it mean for the Conservative opposition up north.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Also, today Congress debates the Laken Riley Act on illegal immigration.

FETTERMAN: If you’re here illegally, and you’re committing crimes and those things, I don’t know why anyone thinks it’s controversial that they all need to go.

Later, the story of a woman scammed out of her life savings by government impersonators.

GRUNDMAN: I have never had any contact with the Federal Trade Commission. I didn't know how they operate.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, January 14th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

REICHARD: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: California fires 1 » Firefighters in California are bracing for a return of dangerous winds today that could once again fuel historic wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

Forecasters are warning of near-hurricane force winds. LA County Fire Chief Anthony Maronne:

MARRONNE:  Severe fire weather conditions will continue through Wednesday. The anticipated winds combined with low humidities and low fuel moistures will keep the fire threat in all of Los Angeles County critical.

Crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes more than 14,000 personnel and nearly a hundred aircraft.

Crews made some progress battling the flames over the past few days. But LA County Sheriff Robert Luna is urging residents to stay away from areas still under evacuation orders.

LUNA:  People are saying, I just want to go look at my house and I want to see what's left. We know that, but we have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors.

The confirmed death toll now stands at 24, but 16 others remain missing. And the fires have consumed thousands of homes.

California fires-2  » While fierce Santa Ana winds have fueled the fires, authorities are trying to determine what sparked them in the first place. LA Assistant Police Chief Dominic Choi:

CHOI:  We have created a Los Angeles Regional Wildlife Investigative Task Force, and while their work is still in the early stages, we're committed to identifying the cause and origin of these fires, and we're also committed to holding anyone who's responsible for these fires accountable.

Police also have their hands full looking for looters taking advantage of evacuation orders.

Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman:

HOCHMAN:  The criminals have decided that this is an opportunity, and I'm here to tell you that this is not an opportunity. You will be arrested, you will be prosecuted, and you will be punished to the full extent of the law.

Those arrested included two people who posed as firefighters going into houses.

California National Guard troops are also on hand to help guard properties.

Hochman said criminals are also now trying to exploit recovery efforts. He said some have set up fake GoFundMe accounts trying to fraudulently collect donations.

Biden foreign policy » President Biden delivered his final foreign policy speech on Monday.

One week before leaving office, Biden made the case that America is now better off.

BIDEN: My administration is leaving the next administration with a very strong hand to play.  Compared to four years ago, America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger. Our adversaries and competitors are weaker.

The president delivering his capstone address at the State Department.

He insisted that his presidency restored American credibility on the world stage proving that the U.S. remains an indispensable partner.

Republicans expressed a different point of view. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton:

COTTON:  President Biden had the gall to go out and say that America is stronger today than it was four years ago. I beg to differ. Uncle Sam has had a “kick me” sign back for the last four years because of Joe Biden's weakness.

Ukraine  »  President Biden touted, among other things, U.S. support for Ukraine and standing up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

And at the Pentagon, Monday, spokesman Pat Ryder updated reporters on the war in Ukraine. For almost three years, Ukrainian and Russian soldiers have been dying on the battlefield. But he said now North Korean soldiers are also perishing.

RYDER: In terms of the casualty figures, I don't have a specific casualty number to provide you other than we are aware of more than 1,000 casualties on the battlefield. To my knowledge that does include a wide range of rank to include some senior officers.

Pyongyang deployed some 10,000 troops to the battlefront in Russia late last year as part of a growing military alliance with Moscow.

SCOTUS gun case » The Supreme Court is turning back a challenge to a strict gun licensing law in Maryland. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: The high court declined to hear the case in a brief order handed down. As is typical, the court did not elaborate on the decision not to take up the case.

The challengers argue the handgun law violates the Second Amendment by making it too hard for people to get guns. The law requires people to get safety training, submit fingerprints and pass a background check before buying a handgun. Maryland insists it is a reasonable safety measure.

The law was passed after the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

SOUND: [Jesus Take the Wheel]

Carrie Underwood, Village People to perform at inauguration Country music star Carrie Underwood is set to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration next week.

Other performers will include fellow country singer Lee Greenwood, opera singer Christopher Macchio, and 1970s hitmakers the Village People:

SOUND: [YMCA song clip]

The band will perform at one of Trump’s inaugural balls and a rally he’s holding in Washington the day his Monday inauguration.

I'm Kent Covington.

Still ahead: a major shakeup at the top of Canada’s government. Plus, Congress debate the Laken Riley Act on immigration.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 14th of January.

This is WORLD Radio and we thank you for listening. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

First up on The World and Everything in It…a political sea-change in Canada.

The Liberal Party of Canada is still looking for a new leader to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He’ll leave his post in March.

Here’s Trudeau last week in Canada’s capital, Ottawa.

TRUDEAU: I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust, nationwide competitive process.

One question is: why now? Joining us is Stockwell Day, he’s a former member of the Canadian Parliament, and for two years led the nation’s conservative opposition. He’s now a political consultant, and we caught up with him on a business trip overseas.

REICHARD: Stockwell, good morning.

STOCKWELL DAY: Great to be with you, Mary.

REICHARD: A bit of background about Justin Trudeau for listeners. He is the son of Pierre Trudeau, who was Canada’s prime minister for 16 years, between 1968 and 1984. Justin has been in power for almost a decade. Why resign now?

DAY: The question Canadians have had is why has it taken him so long, quite honestly. Because he has been battling from within his own party now for quite some time. More and more members are becoming more public and wanting him to step down.

They're very low in the polls. His own personal ratings are very low. I've been making the case that it's not just him, it's the policies that people are tired of. And really the final straw, if we can say that, was when his finance minister resigned. She quit on him a little over a week ago, and that made everybody furious. He's lost a number of ministers, and including actually, key women in his cabinet over the last couple years. And this was the final straw.

REICHARD: So the ruling Liberal Party will choose a new leader in March. And then voters will elect members of parliament in October. Some people predict the Conservative party will emerge with the majority…and if that is the case, Canada’s next prime minister would likely be Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre.

Stockwell, you know this man. He was your assistant before he ran for Parliament back in the early 2000s. What kind of leader do you think he’d be?

DAY: Well, you're right. I do know him. He did work for me. He actually kind of ran our campus campaign when I was running for Leader of the Opposition, and he was very good, very astute at that. And then when I came to Ottawa, he came along as my assistant, so I got to know him. Canada will be in very good hands. And I'm not just saying that just because I know him, but because he has not just sounded like—but people are convinced he will behave like—a true “small c” conservative in terms of fiscal priorities, some similar concerns in the US as Canada.

In Canada, you may be aware that the street drug problem is actually a runaway train, and the homelessness that has exploded onto our streets over the last 10 years or so is horrendous. Crime has gone up in that regard. So he wants to address that issue. It's those types of “small c” conservative issues. People wanting a return to normalcy, people being able to afford to buy the groceries that they need to. Housing has gotten extremely expensive. All of these things are leading up to a very upset population, the majority of which say they will vote for Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party, and that's been baked in, Mary, for a couple of years. He's not taking anything for granted, but it's really a solid thing among voter intention. It's not just a momentary win.

REICHARD: How might diplomacy change between a Canada led by Poilievre and the US? Versus now, and in light of President Trump returning to power?

DAY: Pierre Poilievre is much more security minded. He understands the border issues. He understands the crime issues, but he will also be a tough negotiator. When he's sitting down with President Trump, I think they will respect each other, because they have similar views in terms of security that's needed in the world these days. And the necessary steps needed to be taken to bolster what we're doing in terms of military and defense spending. So he'll be a tough negotiator. He will clearly put Canada first, but they come from some similar thinking as far as the importance of security to a nation.

REICHARD: How do you think Poilievre would approach Trump’s stance on tariffs?

DAY: He understands the trade issues very well. He also knows that there are some important economic issues that could hurt American business if Canada was to respond in kind. The US still acquires a fair bit of Canada's energy products, coming to many refineries in the US. There's going to be some significant trade offs that have to be dealt with. So those will be real factors in the negotiation. But where nobody is kidding anybody here. Tariffs are a huge issue. Tariff wars, historically, never work out for both sides. But there's an understanding that president elect Trump is going to try and use them as a hammer in the negotiations for sure.

REICHARD: Now I know that you are a Christian man who has been in Canadian politics for decades now I'm wondering, what is your prayer for the country's leadership this next year?

DAY: My prayer would be right along the lines that are written into the Canadian Constitution. And the preamble to our Constitution, which is supposed to set the tone for the Constitution, are the words that are very clear. It says, recognizing the supremacy of God. And certainly we're not talking about a theocratic nation, like an Islamic nation here, but that policies which could be described as Judeo Christian, that recognize the supremacy of God. So that would be my prayer for Canada, is that an increasing number or sufficient number of Canadians would recognize that there are time tested, proven policies that can be universally applied to any group of people that will allow either a community or a city or country to flourish, and that would be my prayer for Canada. That we would continue to flourish because we recognize that there are universal principles that come to play in terms of making for a successful community or a successful nation.

REICHARD: I pray the same for my own country. Stockwell Day is Canada's former opposition leader and a political commentator. Stockwell, thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate it. Thank you for your interest.

DAY: All the best.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It:

Protecting Americans from violence.

Nearly one year ago, students at the University of Georgia were shocked to learn that an illegal immigrant on campus killed one of their classmates.

WORLD’s Lindsay Mast now with how one UGA alum received the news.

LINDSAY MAST: University of Georgia graduate Katy Moran was at work when her old campus ministry group chat started blowing up…on February 22nd 2024.

MORAN: They all started posting things like, send prayers to Laken Riley's family, you know, she's in a better place, things like that.

Nursing student Laken Riley had been out running in a park on campus. Police received an emergency 911 call from her phone. It was shortly after 9am. They found her body in the woods a few hours later, with marks of blunt force and strangulation.

MORAN: Me and my friend Walker used to go to that lake, to that park next to the intramural fields and it was not dangerous at all.

Like Riley, Katy Moran is a runner…and when she heard where Riley’s body was found, she was confused.

MORAN: You know, someone drunk driving downtown at three in the morning that makes sense, but a girl getting murdered at 9am for running, doesn't make sense at all.

One day after Riley’s death, police detained Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. He crossed the border in September of 2022 and was released pending an asylum trial. In 2023, he was charged with shoplifting from a Walmart in Athens, Georgia. Ibarra never appeared for his trial and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest, but he remained at large. When he was arrested as the prime suspect for the Riley murder in February of last year, his immigration status galvanized the border security debate.

But for UGA alum Katy Moran, and many students like her, the concern is much more personal and immediate.

MORAN: There needs to be more safety, there needs to be more seriousness talked about safety. It's just very important to never travel alone. And I think especially when you're in college, you're on top of the world, you know, you're very vulnerable, but you don't acknowledge that. You never know what people are going to do around you.

Ibarra was found guilty of Laken Riley’s murder and sentenced to life in prison in November.

But for those who felt a connection to her death…one thing remains apparent: safety, like life, can be fragile.

For WORLD, I’m Lindsay Mast.

EICHER: Last week, U.S. Senator Katie Britt reintroduced a bill called the Laken Riley Act…

BRITT: Lakin would have been 23 on January 10th. There is no greater gift that could be given to her and our country than to continue her legacy by saving lives through this bill.

REICHARD: The legislation would make it easier for federal authorities to detain and deport illegal immigrants charged with committing crimes in the U.S. When it was first introduced last year, the bill stalled for lack of Democratic support.

EICHER: This time around, Republicans control both chambers of Congress, and swing state Democrats have come out to support the bill.

Washington Bureau reporter Carolina Lumetta has that story.

CAROLINA LUMETTA: After Laken Riley’s death, political debate heated up about what to do with people who commit crimes after entering the United States illegally.

President-elect Donald Trump included the issue in nearly every campaign speech last year, including this appearance at a rally in Georgia.

TRUMP: The savage monster who murdered Laken was let in and released into our country by the open border policy of Kamala Harris… immediately upon taking the oath of office. I will launch the largest deportation program in American history.

Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene passed out buttons with Riley’s name on them at the State of the Union address in March. And President Joe Biden held one up during his speech:

BIDEN: Laken Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That's right. But how many thousands of people being killed by illegals? To her parents, I say my heart goes out to you having lost children myself. I understand.

Alabama Senator Katie Britt started to draft a bill to change the laws that kept Riley’s killer from being detained sooner. While a version of it passed the House, Britt’s bill stalled in the majority-Democrat Senate. I asked Britt about it last week…while riding the tram to Senate office buildings.

KATIE BRITT: We obviously would have loved and asked for a hearing and a mark-up in Senate Judiciary. Democrats would not give that to us. They actually did not mark up one immigration bill in the entire last Congress. You look at last year, we took the Laken Riley Act down to the floor not once but twice to try to get it heard and Democrats blocked it both times.

Now…Republicans are in the majority and Democrats are coming to the negotiating table. Democratic senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Ruben Gallego of Arizona co-sponsored the bill, urging their side of the aisle to pass it quickly. Here’s Fetterman on FOX News last week.

FETTERMAN: If you’re here illegally, and you’re committing crimes and those things, I don’t know why anyone thinks it’s controversial that they all need to go.

Thirty-two Democrats voted with Republicans to open up debate on the bill, but they want amendments on some of the finer points. For example, current law allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain an undocumented person only after they have been convicted of a felony.

The Laken Riley Act would include illegal immigrants who have merely been charged with crimes as minor as theft, including shoplifting.

On the Senate floor yesterday, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin said the net was too wide.

DURBIN: This bill, as currently written, would eliminate ICE’s discretion to prioritize detention and deportation for dangerous individuals. Instead, it requires—requires—ICE to treat a child arrested for shoplifting candy the same as an adult convicted of child abuse. Why?

Another portion of the bill allows states to sue federal agencies for failing to uphold border law. They would also have the authority to overturn an immigration judge’s decision to release a detainee.

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat, voted to bring the bill to the Senate floor …but told me he needed more details before voting on the act itself.

KAINE: It never went through a committee so no one has an idea about what it costs, and I think that's important information.

Senator Britt’s office told me they are “prepared to give ICE the resources it needs to properly enforce federal law and protect American families.” Unquote. That means ICE would get more funding, but it is not yet clear where those funds would come from.

Here is Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

THUNE: This is not—I emphasize not—a comprehensive immigration bill. It is an attempt to right one wrong: the fact that individuals already here illegally who have been charged with various property crimes are not required to be detained by immigration and customs enforcement. It is an attempt to ensure that no other family will have to suffer the pain suffered by Laken Riley's.

Debate on the bill…and possible amendments…continues today.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Carolina Lumetta in Washington D.C.

NICK EICHER, HOST: In college football, it’s all about tradition. And with the championship game less than a week away, who doesn’t love seeing victorious players rain down Gatorade on their coach?

Green, blue, orange. It’s colorful, iconic, and maybe not something RFK Jr. would approve of (food dye!) but still all in good fun.

Seriously, though, I think there is a line to draw—a thick, gloopy white line.

At the Mayo Bowl a few weeks back, the victorious Minnesota Golden Gophers gave their coach, P.J. Fleck, something to remember: five gallons of mayonnaise poured right on him. Here he is with Fox Sports:

REPORTER: Was it everything you hoped it would be? 

FLECK: Everything and more. I mean that’s the most interesting feeling that I think I’ve ever had in my entire life.

By “interesting,” I think he means disgusting. Mayo doesn’t belong on food—let alone on another human being.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: I've heard it's good conditioner.

REPORTER: Congrats on the season. Now go take a shower.

FLECK: Yea, you bet!

EICHER: It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, January 14th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: losing a life savings.

The Federal Trade Commission says consumers reported losing $76 million paying cash to government impersonation scammers in 2023, almost double the amount lost that way the year prior.

But even that is the tip of a fraudulent iceberg.

REICHARD: WORLD associate correspondent Rachel Coyle has the story of a woman who fell prey to one such scam.

CONNIE GRUNDMANN: Look at that amount that I put in a box and put in the back of a car of somebody I had no idea who it was.

RACHEL COYLE: It was $50,000, cash.

GRUNDMANN: But I truly believed it was his logistics driver to take it to Washington, DC.

The total she lost was much higher.

GRUNDMANN: We had just been deceived and scammed of $98,400.

That’s Connie Grundmann’s entire life savings. It started on a balmy spring Wednesday in South Carolina. She turned on her laptop to order her husband’s medication.

GRUNDMANN: My computer started flashing. It was Microsoft alerts.

The warning covered the screen with no way to turn it off. A phone number flashed:

GRUNDMANN: “Call this number now.” I was shaking so badly I was scared so badly.

That common response made Connie vulnerable to the scammer’s tactics. John Street is a Biblical counselor and a professor at The Master’s University. He says fear can cloud a person’s judgement.

STREET: It becomes like an emotional roadblock in our thinking, where normally they would be a very logical type of a person. They make good decisions, but when the adrenaline is running, and they become really desperate, then they make horrible decisions.

Connie dialed the number and a woman posing as a Microsoft agent answered.

GRUNDMANN: She kept saying something … You've been hacked.

Connie didn’t know it was the beginning of an intricate plan to steal her money.

The woman on the phone listed a number of vile activities supposedly associated with Connie’s computer.

GRUNDMANN: She kept saying, This is not good! I need to transfer you to the FTC. Please hold.” I was scared. I’m still scared.

Connie was then connected to a man who called himself Alvaro Bedoya. He told her to verify his identity online. His name and picture are on the Federal Trade Commission’s website. Except that was not the man Connie was speaking with.

GUNDMANN: He told me the Federal Trade Commission needed to secure our funds from these foreign addresses on your computer. I was still in panic mode. And I have never had any contact with the Federal Trade Commission. I didn't know how they operate.

She didn’t know they don’t call you or have you call them. “Bedoya” had various methods to make it appear legitimate, such as providing a password to use every time they spoke.

GRUNDMANN: So, I fell for the scam.

On day one, he started small: purchase $400 in gift cards and give him the numbers. Then, make multiple withdrawals from ATMs, totaling $3,200.

GRUNDMANN: I was instructed to deposit all of those monies into the Bitcoin.

From there, the money went straight to the scammer.

The FBI reports that 37,000 tech support scam victims lost close to $1 billion in 2023. Actual losses are likely much higher, as many victims are too embarrassed to report the crimes. The numbers for 2024 aren’t released yet, but Connie is among them.

On day two, the scam became more complicated. Since Connie didn’t bank locally, “Bedoya” told her to open a checking account at a local Wells-Fargo. Then use various ATMs around town for $4,800. By day three, she had withdrawn $40,000 cash using her new checking account. Connie could tell from her interactions with multiple bankers that they were concerned.

GRUNDMANN: But he never used the word “scam.” They kept saying “money laundering.” And I still to this day don't understand money laundering, other than they’ve washed it out of my hands.

All of it went into the Bitcoin machine.

Just six days after the scam began, Connie wired her final $50,000 from savings into her new checking account—and withdrew the cash.

From the banks’ perspectives, Connie was a willing participant. Videos confirm she made the cash withdrawals.

GRUNDMANN: He said, “Get a box, wrap the cash, and address it to the U.S. Treasury Department. My logistics driver will come to your house and pick up the money. Walk slowly to the car. Ask for the passcode and drop the box in the back of the car.” I think I knew at that time, this was not right.

Professor John Street says it’s possible to recognize when fear is in charge, and take back control:

STREET: One of the ways that we can recognize fear is I will want to be reactive. Do the first thing that I think is the best, rather than carefully thinking. But you have to stop and regain your thoughts, and not allow your thoughts to be flooded with fearful panic.

Connie watched the car drive away, sick to her stomach. Days went by and the money never showed up in her account. She looked more closely at the documents and texts he had sent—and noticed glaring grammar and spelling errors. Humiliated, Connie had to admit she had been scammed.

GRUNDMANN: The mental torture has been spiritual warfare, big time.

Connie held out hope that she might get her money back. An agent with the Secret Service says that's not likely—recovery is low—but encourages victims like Connie to report their losses anyway.

She looked to Scripture for comfort:

GRUNDMANN: I kept hearing and seeing the word “restore, restoration.” And I kept thinking, Well, God's going to work this out, and we're going to get our money back. No, the restoration is for me, my relationship with Jesus Christ.

A wire-bound notebook detailed verses, music, and messages that helped her. She asked for prayer from her church family. Her initial embarrassment morphed into opportunity.

GRUNDMANN: I want Him to be glorified through all this, that if I can get the word out so that other people will see the red flags long before I saw them.

After many hours on the phone, weeks of work, mailing documents to her banks, Connie did manage to get some of her money back from one bank, just shy of $5,000.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Rachel Coyle, in Boiling Springs, SC.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, January 14th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Now that Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has decided to boot politically biased fact checkers off Facebook and Instagram. WORLD Opinions contributor Hunter Baker says the move’s a welcome reality check.

HUNTER BAKER: “Who watches the watchmen?” That was a question posed by the Roman poet Juvenal. How can we be sure that those we invest with authority will use it to its intended purpose?

When social media exploded into our lives about 20 years ago and rapidly became a normal part of everyday existence, it contributed to a sharp decline in the monopoly mass media had over the distribution of information.

The revolutionary changes began with the advent of internet publishing such as The Drudge Report which exposed the Monica Lewinsky scandal the mainstream media decided not to cover. It picked up steam with blogging of the type that derailed Dan Rather’s storied career when bloggers picked apart the CBS anchorman’s attack on President George W. Bush’s military service. And then accelerated into the stratosphere with social media as the ultimate way to rapidly disseminate ideas and information.

But the straw that really seemed to break the back of the media camel was the stunning, thread-the-electoral-needle defeat in 2016 of former first lady, U.S. senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by the billionaire real estate developer and television celebrity Donald Trump. A parallel shock occurred in the United Kingdom that same year when the Brexit referendum carried the day to the surprise of nearly everyone. These events and others of a similar style seemed to convince establishment elites that disinformation campaigns were creating havoc in politics and derailing carefully laid plans.

Social media sites such as Facebook had built its appeal not only on the ability to share special family events, photos of vacations, and achievements of children but also as places to push out information about pop culture, fashion, comedy, and, yes, politics. Free speech would be the rule. And virtually everyone now had easy access to the means of making themselves seen and heard. As political surprises accumulated, the general buzz about social media turned from a celebration of free speech to a proliferation of concerns and questions as to how the new platforms could be better regulated.

With the onset of COVID-19, those who had the desire to control social media and free speech via regulation finally found the perfect justification to assert control. What better reason to block the spread of purported disinformation than a global pandemic that exacted a heavy toll on human lives? The major social media engines yielded to government pressure to suppress voices judged to be guilty of disseminating disinformation.

Any theologically informed Christian can look at the situation and see the incredible potential for abuse. After all, who makes the call on what qualifies as disinformation, especially in an underdeveloped and dynamic data environment? It is obvious that being able to label someone as a source of disinformation creates an opportunity to silence critics or political opponents. The temptation would be hard to deny, especially when fulfilling it can be clothed in apparent righteousness.

Despite the many satisfactions and power trips offered by a regime of disinformation policing, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last week a retreat from content control and a move back toward a more laissez-faire approach to speech. He admitted that fact-checkers had “destroyed more trust” than they’d created.

What brought about the reversal? Two events stand out. First, Musk bought Twitter, renamed it X, and made shadowy operations transparent through the work of reporters such as Matt Taibbi. Second, Donald Trump achieved a second term in office after his loss in 2020. The center of gravity seemed to shift culturally just enough to help individuals such as Zuckerberg recover their previous belief in free speech as its own best mode of correction.

If we think carefully about the dangerous combination of sin and power, we may all realize that we have narrowly avoided—for now, at least—one of the greatest threats to a free society possible, which is to allow an influential elite control over political and social discourse.

I’m Hunter Baker.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow, Washington Wednesday: Confirmation hearings are beginning for Trump officials. We’ll check in on the first round.

And, wildfires are still burning across L-A county … many families say it’ll be impossible to rebuild … at least back to the way it was.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST:  And I’m Mary Reichard.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is Biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” —Matthew 16:24-26.

Go now in grace and peace.

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