David Rohde

In a time where open hatred in American politics is commonplace, and even commonly accepted, there is one area where the far left and far right agree: the ability of the U.S. government to track our movements, monitor our political views, and invade our personal lives is expanding exponentially in the digital age. Trump supporters fear the “Deep State”. Liberals fear the “military industrial complex”. The general counsel of the NSA recently argued that the real threat to privacy is Facebook, Google and other tech giants who will soon collect more data about Americans than the government. Amidst the claims and counterclaims, David Rohde found reasons for optimism while researching his book In Deep: the FBI, the CIA and the Truth about America's 'Deep State'.

There is no organized “deep state”. The situation is not hopeless, and fears of surveillance are being exaggerated for political gain. There are, in fact, mechanisms for protecting our privacy—from laws protecting government whistleblowers, to consumer boycotts, to the courts and Congress. The problem is the hyper-partisanship of the Trump-era. It’s created paralysis, as well deep, widespread confusion. Quietly, behind the scenes, deals are being made—an unlikely alliance to protect privacy. Surveillance, Rohde believes, represents an opportunity for a grand political bargain. Preventing surveillance abuse in the digital age can—and will—unite Americans.

Covering an American presidency should be relatively easy compared to covering wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Bosnia. But overseeing news coverage of Donald Trump’s presidency for NewYorker.com has been one of the most challenging and unsettling experiences of David Rohde’s twenty-year career in journalism. Rohde is alarmed by the parallels between American political culture and the dynamics that sparked the brutal civil wars he covered in the past. Commonly accepted facts are becoming increasingly elusive as alternate realities emerge between Trump supporters and opponents. The country’s political divides are volatile, cavernous, and growing.

In this keynote, Rohde describes how now, more than ever, we need lucid, principled reporting—a free press that stands up to power (or, as The New Yorker argues, fights fake stories with real ones). At the same time, journalists cannot make mistakes or cut corners. He argues that the news organizations must hold themselves to a higher standard than the members of the current administration who repeatedly make false statements. To Rohde, the danger for the United States is that the ruthless pursuit of no-holds-barred political advantage will divide, confuse, and stoke fear to such an extent that longstanding democratic norms will erode. Troubling signs are already emerging. A Washington Post poll found that fifty-two percent of Republicans would delay the 2020 elections if Trump said it was necessary to prevent millions of illegal immigrants from voting. Journalists must respond to our polarized political perspectives with facts, Rohde argues, and work to prevent what he witnessed overseas from emerging here at home.