Unspun

The hidden cost of paywalls: How restricting news hurts democracy

July 14, 2026·27 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Quality journalism costs money while misinformation is usualy free?But most quality news is behind a paywall and few people want to pay.In this episode of UnSpun, DrSturg traces the history of the news paywall from the early days of online newspapers to today's subscription economy and examines what decades of research tell us about who pays, who doesn't, and what that means for public knowledge.Follow @drsturg on BlueskyDrSturg's book, Detecting Deception: Tools to Fight Fake News teaches you how to identify this kind of shady language yourself, using real examples from the news. Check it out and be smarter!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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