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www.commsolutionsmn.com-\xa0What if a city government was able to find out what was being said about specific local topics on social media? Well, you're in luck! A corporation named ZenCity has made that possible. They use Artificial Intelligence to aggregate social media posts for a city (or a specific city department), so that they can gauge public sentiment and change the messaging (read: propaganda) to help sway the public into supporting whatever they want to do. That sounds cynical, but they're saying it!

The Brooklyn Park PD has been using ZenCity, and the cost has come right out of the department budget, so that the city council never even had to vote on it! Other cities like Woodbury, St Paul, North Mankato, and Rochester have also been using them. In Meriden, CT, ZenCity was used to change the public perception about drones used in city parks to "encourage" social distancing. Apache Junction, AZ wanted to shape public opinion around a $245 million land sale. Scottsdale, AZ and Oak Ridge, TN both have similar stories as well. This is not listening to your constituents. This is using their unsuspecting opinions against them, and it's growing in popularity here in Minnesota.

We also discuss the deadliest day in Afghanistan in eleven years. This was a complete travesty fueled by complete incompetency at best and evil intent at the worst. This total botched job could have handled better by anyone that cared at all about our citizens, our military, and our country.

Have you checked out our\xa0Spotify playlist? At the beginning of each episode, Jason quotes some song lyrics that have to do with the subject matter of the podcast. Andrew never knows what they are, but now he can\u2026 and so can you! We\u2019ve launched the Spotify playlist: \u201cCommunity Solutions Music From the Podcast!\u201d You can listen to Roundabout from Yes after listing to Episode 30 on Roundabouts\u2026 or kick back and enjoy a rocking playlist just for the thrill of it. We add a new song every week. Subscribe and enjoy!

Don\u2019t forget that you can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify!