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In the fallout of DC riots, misinformation and protests begin to spread

caption: Protesters stand across from members of the National Guard on Monday, January 11, 2021, on the first day of the legislative session at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia.
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Protesters stand across from members of the National Guard on Monday, January 11, 2021, on the first day of the legislative session at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia.
KUOW Photo/Megan Farmer

We catch up with KUOW reporters outside and inside the Washington State Capitol building on the legislative opening day. Experts explain what social media's unprecedented move to de-platform the President means for the future of the internet. And in more uplifting news, a smellicopter gets its wings.

Individual segments are available in our podcast stream or at www.kuow.org/record.

KUOW Reporters on a big day in Olympia

Last Wednesday's riots in Washington, DC have spurred protests in state capitals across the country. In Olympia, protests throughout the weekend led to increased security ahead of today's opening legislative assembly. KUOW Reporter Casey Martin fills us in on the scene outside the capitol, while Olympia Correspondent Austin Jenkins gives us the scene from inside the chamber.

Social media has de-platformed President Trump. What does this mean for the future of online speech?

It started with Twitter. In no time, scores of social media sites followed suit in suspending President Donald Trump's accounts. Parler, social media's contentious iconoclast, is also offline after Amazon, Google, and Apple take a stance. Professor Jevin West, from the UW's Center for an Informed Public, and Hanson Hosein, co-founder of the Communication Leadership Graduate Program at the UW, tell us what to expect next.

Quick, to the smellicopter!

You can't hear as well as a bat can; you can't see as well as an eagle; and you can't smell as well as a moth. Or can you? Melanie Anderson, Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering at the UW, explains how a strategically used moth antenna is helping us detect the smells around us.


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