As artificial intelligence turbocharges the spread of disinformation and deepfakes, a California-based initiative is stepping into the breach with cross-disciplinary expertise and a legislative agenda. The stakes for free and fair elections have never been higher.
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CITED
California Initiative for Technology and Democracy (CITED) provides valuable expertise related to AI regulation and policy to better protect our future.
The threat of disinformation turbocharged by AI is too grave to ignore.”— Drew Liebert, Co-Founder CITEDMONTEREY, CA, UNITED STATES, November 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — SideBar: Optimism in Action podcast, a collaboration of KAZU 90.3 and Monterey College of Law, welcomes Drew Liebert and Jonathan Mehta Stein with the California Initiative for Technology and Democracy (CITED).
Disinformation and deepfakes produced by Artificial Intelligence (AI) continue to pose a real threat. New laws are providing a measure of protection, but technology has the capacity to disrupt our daily lives, including critical processes such as free and fair elections. The California Initiative for Technology and Democracy (CITED) provides valuable expertise related to AI regulation as it applies to protecting our future.
CITED is intentionally cross-disciplinary. In order to ensure our solutions are both impactful and implementable, we have brought to our work leaders from civil rights and civic engagement, law and public policy, industry and tech. CITED leads a legislative portfolio every year, provides public leadership and strategic communications, hosts community events to raise the visibility of these issues and educate the public, engages experts nationally and in other states, and works in coalition with civil rights, civic engagement, GOTV, and power building partners. For more information about CITED, go to https://cited.tech.
This episode of SideBar: Optimism in Action continues our focus on organizations that are dedicated to protecting our communities. Go to www.KAZU.org/sidebar or www.sidebarmedia.org/podcasts to listen to recent episodes:
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KAZU 90.3 radio and SideBarMedia are excited to collaborate to add SideBar: Optimism in Action podcast to KAZU’s digital programming on the station's website (www.kazu.org/sidebar).
KAZU is the NPR affiliate station for Monterey, Salinas, and Santa Cruz. The SideBar: Optimism in Action podcast – sponsored by Monterey College of Law, a long-standing nonprofit sponsor of KAZU 90.3 radio – has become the first non-newscast, locally produced podcast featured on the KAZU website and mobile application.
SideBar: Optimism in Action is hosted by former law dean Mitch Winick and produced by David Eakin, a local theater composer, media consultant, and podcast producer. “The podcast features nonprofit leaders, advocates, and community members who represent extraordinary work that is improving the humanitarian, public policy, and charitable needs of our local, national, and global communities. Our focus this season is on the amazing individuals who are pursuing positive change during challenging times,” explained Winick.
New episodes of SideBar: Optimism in Action are published on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at www.kazu.org/sidebar. To learn more about the podcast, read our blog, and to preview and listen to more than 90 previous episodes, go to SideBarMedia at www.sidebarmedia.org.
Mitchel Winick
SideBar Media
+1 831-241-8999
Why it matters: As AI-generated disinformation becomes more sophisticated, initiatives like CITED that blend legal, technical, and civic expertise are critical to safeguarding democratic processes. The SideBar podcast’s spotlight on these efforts underscores a growing recognition that regulation alone cannot keep pace with rapidly evolving technology.
