CTRL ALT DECEIT: Democracy in Danger

2 Trump's political comeback, Project 2025 and the future of Ukraine

CTRL ALT DECEIT: Democracy in Danger

Show Notes

US citizens have exercised their democratic right - but is growing anti-democratic sentiment in powerful conservative think tanks, Trump’s inner circle and the tech titans of Silicon Valley still a cause of concern? As Donald J Trump becomes the President-elect of the United States, journalists Nina Dos Santos and Owen Bennett-Jones examine the key tenets of Project 2025 and the philosophies of political strategist Steven Bannon and tech billionaire Peter Thiel. Plus, we hear from journalist and author Edward Lucas on the impact of Trump’s win on the future of Ukraine.

Ctrl Alt Deceit is brought to you by Democratys, a charity committed to exposing interference in our democratic institutions and inspiring debate and engagement in our democratic process in the UK and beyond. Producer: Paige Reynolds Exec Producer: Lucinda Knight

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In the season finale of Ctrl Alt Deceit, Nina dos Santos and Owen Bennett-Jones dig into the tangled web of media ownership, foreign influence and the future of free press. With a new UK government potentially greenlighting a UAE-backed bid for a stake in The Daily Telegraph, the hosts ask: does it matter who owns the news anymore? From Silicon Valley billionaires to Gulf state investors, the press is no longer just the fourth estate; it's a business, a weapon and a mirror of global power shifts. Is editorial independence a thing of the past? And can democracy survive in a world where outrage sells and facts struggle to pay the bills?

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May 9, 2025

Britain's Conservative Party is one of the oldest and most successful political parties in history. Local elections in the UK have signalled that they are facing the prospect of being wiped out, imperilled by the rise of the right-wing Reform Party, headed by one of the most pervasive and divisive figures in British politics: Nigel Farage. Reform’s success is also coming at the expense of Labour, whose voters are underwhelmed and unconvinced by the performance so far of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government.

May 2, 2025

On this edition of Ctrl Alt Deceit: Democracy in Danger, we are live at the Royal United Services Institute.

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