Summary
Steven Rosenbaum is an American entrepreneur, filmmaker, and author recognized as a pioneer in video curation and user-generated content (UGC). He is currently the Executive Director of the Sustainable Media Center, a nonprofit focused on improving the digital ecosystem.
Key Professional Roles
- Executive Director, Sustainable Media Center: Leads efforts to explore the impact of AI and social media on truth and society.
- “Father of UGC”: Created the groundbreaking MTV series MTV News Unfiltered, which was one of the first broadcast programs to use viewer-generated footage.
- Filmmaker: Directed and produced numerous documentaries, most notably 7 Days in September (2002), a highly praised film documenting the week following the 9/11 attacks.
- Tech Entrepreneur: Founded Magnify.net (later Waywire), a video curation and aggregation platform.
- Author: Has written several books on media and technology, including Curation Nation, Curate This!, and his latest, The Future of Truth: How AI Reshapes Reality.
Source: Wikipedia
Magnify Media /BNN / CameraPlanet / – 30/11/2025 (03:06)
OnAir Post: Steven Rosenbaum
News
A jury has now found major social media platforms liable for harm. In this conversation, attorney Laura Marquez-Garrett breaks down how the case got past Section 230, what the discovery revealed, and why the verdict matters far beyond the damages.
This is not the end of the case. It’s the beginning of a new phase.
Featuring Laura Marquez-Garrett, Frances Haugen, and members of the Sustainable Media Center community, this discussion looks at what comes next, from litigation to policy to public pressure.
The Verdict That Breaks the Pattern
For years, these cases never made it this far.
They died early. Quietly. Predictably.
Motion to dismiss. Case closed. No discovery. No documents. No internal truth.
That was the system.
Last week, that system broke.
A jury found that major social media platforms could be held liable for harm, including findings of oppression, malice, or fraud. The headlines focused on the verdict. The real story is how it happened and what it unlocks next.
At the center of that shift is Laura Marquez-Garrett.
“This is exactly why I wanted to do this call,” I said in a post-verdict discussion with Laura, Frances Haugen, and others who have been working toward this moment for years. “Now we have to keep this going.”
Laura made it clear right away. The verdict is not the end. It’s the beginning.
Meta, YouTube found Negligent. Verdict in Social Media Harm Case brings Sustainable Media Center membership and mission to the fore.
“This verdict puts a stake in the ground. A jury reviewed how these systems are built and concluded that harm was not incidental. Profiting from misinformation just got a lot harder to do.”— Steven Rosenbaum, Executive Director, The Sustainable Media Center
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, March 26, 2026 / EINPresswire.com / — In K.G.M. v. Meta Platforms, Inc., et al., a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in the design and operation of their platforms, concluding that those failures were a substantial factor in causing harm to a young user. The jury also found the companies failed to adequately warn users of known risks, awarding $3 million in damages and assigning 70 percent responsibility to Meta and 30 percent to YouTube.
The case, widely viewed as a bellwether, is the first to take claims of social media addiction and youth mental health harm to trial against major technology platforms.
The Sustainable Media Center, a nonprofit focused on building a healthier digital ecosystem, issued the following statement:
“This verdict puts a stake in the ground,” said Steven Rosenbaum, Executive Director of the Sustainable Media Center. “A jury reviewed how these systems are built and concluded that harm was not incidental. Profiting from misinformation just got a lot harder to do.”
Rosenbaum said the findings go directly to the core defense long used by platform companies.
“For years, the argument has been that platforms are passive, that they simply host what users bring to them,” he said. “This verdict rejects that. It recognizes that these systems are engineered environments, and that engineering carries responsibility.”
He added that the decision reframes how risk should be understood going forward.
“When a product is designed to maximize time, repetition, and emotional response, you can’t separate the design from the outcome,” Rosenbaum said. “That connection is now on the record in a court of law.”
SMC emphasized that the lived experience of young users is now being reflected in legal findings.
“What young people have been describing for years is now being validated in a different arena,” said Emma Lembke, Director of Gen Z Advocacy at the Sustainable Media Center. “This case acknowledges that these platforms don’t just host behavior, they shape it in ways that can have real consequences.”
Lembke said the ruling marks an inflection point.
“There’s a shift happening from awareness to accountability,” she said. “And once that shift happens, it becomes much harder for companies to dismiss harm as anecdotal or unavoidable.”
The Sustainable Media Center also recognized the families, advocates, journalists, and legal teams whose persistence helped bring the case forward.
SMC highlighted the work of the Social Media Victims Law Center and attorney Laura Marquez-Garrett, along with Nicki Petrossi, host of Scrolling 2 Death, who reported on the trial extensively, and Sarah Gardner of The Heat Initiative, and Lennon Torres, for their continued advocacy.
The organization paid tribute to Tony and Brandy Roberts, who lost their daughter Englyn Roberts and have become leading voices for families seeking accountability, along with the many parents who traveled to Los Angeles, waited for hours to enter the courtroom, and remained outside when they could not get in, determined to witness the proceedings.
“This outcome reflects years of persistence by families who refused to accept that nothing could be done,” Rosenbaum said. “They forced this issue into a place where evidence matters, and where responsibility can be assigned.”
SMC noted that the case is expected to shape how thousands of similar claims are evaluated across the country.
“This is the beginning of a new phase,” said Lembke. “Not the end of the conversation, but the point where it becomes much harder to ignore.”
Rosenbaum said the broader question now is what changes follow.
“The legal system has now weighed in on how these products operate,” he said. “The next step is whether that leads to meaningful changes in how they are designed, or whether it takes more cases, more pressure, and more public scrutiny to get there.”
In reporting the significance of this ruling, the New York Times wrote: “The cases have been compared to those against Big Tobacco last century, when Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds were accused of hiding information about the harms of cigarettes. The companies reached a $206 billion master settlement with more than 40 states in 1998 that led to an agreement to stop marketing to minors. Strict tobacco regulations and a decline in smoking followed.”
Case Details:
Case: K.G.M. v. Meta Platforms, Inc., et al.
Court: Los Angeles County Superior Court, California
Case No.: JCCP 5255
Plaintiff’s Counsel:
The case was prosecuted by Mark Lanier of The Lanier Law Firm, along with the Social Media Victims Law Center and co-counsel including Laura Marquez-Garrett. 600 1st Ave Suite 102-PMB 2382, Seattle, WA 98104 Phone: (206) 741-4862
At SXSW last week, in a city fueled by music, BBQ, and parties, there was a different energy in the room.
Beneath all the noise and motion, there was a shared sense that something fundamental had broken. Not abstract, not theoretical, not something to debate on a panel and move past. Something real. Truth itself no longer feels like something we can reliably trust, not when machines can manufacture believable fictions at scale, instantly and endlessly, with no signal telling us where reality ends and fabrication begins.
As I noted in my presentation: We built systems that perform the trick, and somewhere along the way we stopped telling the audience it was a trick.
That’s the shift. And once you see it, it’s hard to unsee.
Maria Ressa does not issue warnings lightly.
She is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, co-founder and CEO of the investigative newsroom Rappler, and one of the journalists who most clearly documented how social media gets weaponized against democratic institutions. For years she reported on the disinformation networks that helped consolidate power under Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines — watching as coordinated online narratives discredited journalism, fractured public trust, and normalized violence against critics.
That experience is why her latest warning deserves careful attention.
The report is called “First 100 Days of Trump 2.0: Narrative Warfare and the Breakdown of Reality.” It was originally compiled in spring 2025 by The Nerve, a data insights consultancy Ressa helps lead as head of global strategy. The researchers analyzed executive orders, platform dynamics, influencer networks, and narrative patterns across Facebook, X, YouTube, and TikTok during the first hundred days of Donald Trump’s second term.
Then January 2026 arrived. And the researchers watched their framework play out in real time.
They added a preface — and released the report now.
“The chaos of those early months,” Ressa writes, “was not just political turbulence. It was the systematic importation and evolution of the authoritarian playbook we survived in the Philippines.”
The numbers behind that claim are striking.
I’ve met many champions in my life.
My father is a champion of the law. My high school English teacher was a champion of my education. And in 2024, I discovered a true champion for kids’ online safety: the Attorney General of New Mexico, Raúl Torrez.
Substack, – March 2, 2026
Walk into an airport lounge in Nairobi.
The television is on. The red logo is familiar. The anchor is speaking in English about Washington. A lower third scrolls beneath images of Congress, the White House, a court ruling, a foreign policy crisis.
For decades, CNN has been more than an American cable channel. It has been a global reference point. In trading floors, hotel bars, and government offices across more than 200 countries, CNN has functioned as a steady signal of how the United States understands itself and how it explains events to the world.
That signal is now entering a new corporate era.
With Paramount Skydance poised to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN would fall into the same ownership orbit that already includes CBS News.
This is not merely another entertainment consolidation. It is the potential concentration of two major American news institutions inside a single corporate structure closely associated with the Ellison family.
The implications are not about cable ratings. They are about infrastructure.
This week on Substack Live at the Sustainable Media Center, Emma Lembke sat down with Steve Rosenbaum and two of the most relentless voices tracking the Los Angeles social media harm trial in real time: Nicki Petrossi and Sarah Gardner.
Nicki is a digital activist and the host of Scrolling to Death and The Heat Is On. Sarah is the founder and CEO of The Heat Initiative and co-host of The Heat Is On. Together, they have become a daily signal in a media environment that is treating a historic trial like a niche story.
And that is the first big takeaway from this episode: the courtroom is full of evidence, testimony, and lived experience. The public conversation is not.
Sarah put it plainly. The reason they decided someone had to cover this case “day in and day out” is not just because it matters, but because we are hearing from the companies in a way we rarely do. When executives and lawyers speak under oath, when internal documents are put on screens, and when decisions get described in the language of product and profit, you learn how these companies actually think. Even when a moment does not land as a headline, it can still teach advocates how to apply pressure elsewhere.
That is what this coverage is: not commentary, but documentation.
It’s one thing to talk about platform harm in panels, reports, and headlines. It’s another to sit in a courtroom and watch the story of social media’s impact on young people get translated into legal arguments, evidentiary rules, and sworn testimony.
This week, Nicki Petrossi, host of the “Scrolling 2 Death” podcast, had one of the very scarce seats in the courtroom in Los Angeles as the first of the social media harms cases moved forward.
She wasn’t there for the optics. She has been tracking this space for years, following the shift from research and advocacy into litigation.
As Petrossi put it, when earlier policy efforts stalled, her focus changed: “I quickly realized, like, no matter what we do… we needed laws. We need help from our lawmakers to help protect our children from predatory companies.”
When that route failed to move quickly enough, she described a pivot toward the courts: “When that failed — for many different reasons… I realized, maybe lawsuits are where it’s at. Maybe some of these big legal tactics can make a difference.”
That is the context for why being in the courtroom now matters. This is not theoretical. This is the arena where product design choices, internal knowledge, and claims of responsibility get tested under oath. As Petrossi put it bluntly, “This is the first time that Mark Zuckerberg was under oath in a court of law having to answer questions about his company and what it does to kids. That is groundbreaking history.”
Sustainable Media Center – February 17, 2026
I’d just finished writing my new book, “The Future of Truth,” when I decided to test my arguments against the very technology I’d spent years analyzing. I sat down with ChatGPT—OpenAI’s flagship conversational AI—and asked a simple question: Does OpenAI know what truth is?
What followed was less an interview than an interrogation. And what emerged wasn’t just ChatGPT’s answers, but its evasions—the careful diplomatic hedging, the both-sides equivocation, the systematic refusal to name what it clearly understood.
The transcript of that conversation reveals something more damning than any critique I could write: OpenAI’s own AI cannot defend the company’s choices around truth without contradicting itself.
We called the night “Gen Z, Tech, and Democracy,” but the energy in the room was less about labels and more about lived experience. This was not a panel about the future in the abstract. It was people who grew up inside platforms, who organize on them, who get surveilled by them, and who are now trying to bend those same systems toward something healthier.
Three themes kept surfacing.
Gen Z is not one thing
Rachel Janfaza, Founder of The Up and Up, opened with a framework that landed hard in the room. There are, functionally, two Gen Zs. Those who came of age before COVID, and those who were in high school or younger when the pandemic hit. The difference is not subtle. One group experienced adolescence with in-person school, social life, and pre-TikTok norms. The other learned how to grow up through Zoom, lockdowns, algorithmic feeds, and a constant sense that institutions were failing them.
That split helps explain a lot of what we see now: distrust of institutions, rejection of party labels, and what feels like a cultural, not strictly partisan, backlash. When more than half of Gen Z calls themselves independent, that is not “centrism.” It is a signal that the system does not feel credible. Not left, not right. Just not working.
The takeaway for anyone building policy, media, or civic tools is simple and uncomfortable: stop talking about Gen Z like a single audience. The lived experience inside this generation is already fractured by technology and by trauma. If you do not account for that, you are designing for a fantasy.
About
Overview
Steven Rosenbaum is a pioneering media entrepreneur, Emmy-winning producer, and author who has consistently been at the forefront of storytelling and innovation. With two Emmy Awards for groundbreaking programming and two patents in video discovery and advertising technology, Steven has founded and led transformative digital media companies, including Magnify.net, Broadcast News Network, CameraPlanet, and Waywire (purchased from founder Cory Booker).
Today, as the co-founder of the Sustainable Media Center, Steven is championing a new era of ethical and impactful media. The Center is a 501(c)(3) organization with a diverse board of over 180 leaders in media, technology, and academia, including 25 GenZ Next Gen Board members. With its mission rooted in intergenerational collaboration, the Center is building a community to explore, experiment, and deploy solutions that empower young people to navigate and shape their increasingly media-centric lives with agency and well-being at the forefront.
Rosenbaum is a regular public speaker at events including TED, SXSW, The Lobby, and University conferences. A writer, blogger, and podcaster, he is currently working on his next book, The Future of Truth, due in spring 2026, inspired by his studies during his Master’s program at NYU. He holds two patents for innovations in video curation and advertising technology and is represented by Todd Shuster at Aevitas.
Source: LinkedIn
Experience
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Sustainable Media Center · Full-time
Jun 2022 – Present · 3 yrs 10 mos
New York City Metropolitan Area
The state of media today is not sustainable. It doesn’t sustain the health and well-being of our children, our society, or our democracy. Today a handful of platforms profit, while makers are struggling to find equitable income streams. The Center for Sustainable Media (CSM), is built to bridge the divide between researcher and industry, identifying solutions and experiments. Together our members can embrace new standards that support sustainable media practices and review and implementation of media platforms and practices that don’t knowingly harm our shared digital future.
Senior Advisor
Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips
Sep 2017 – Present · 8 yrs 7 mos
New York City Metropolitan Area
DeSilva + Phillips, Media Investment Bankers, is a New York-based media investment bank specializing in digital and traditional media, advertising & marketing,
Knit Moderation
Feb 2023 – Present · 3 yrs 2 mos
Portland, Oregon, United States · Remote
Strategic Advisor / neARable Inc.
neARabl Inc.
May 2022 – Present · 3 yrs 11 mos
New York, United States
Strategic Advisor
vHang.tv
May 2022 – Present · 3 yrs 11 mos
New York, United States
Co-Founder, Board Member, Member
Producers Guild of America
Jan 2001 – Present · 25 yrs 3 mos
New York, United States · Remote
Advisory Board Member
CUNY Tech Prep
Nov 2019 – Present · 6 yrs 5 mos
New York City Metropolitan Area
CUNY Tech Prep is an industry-informed program for exceptional computer science students in the CUNY senior college system. Developed and delivered with the CUNY Institute for Software Design and Development and industry leaders, CUNY Tech Prep is designed to provide students with industry exposure to software development and a connection to tech jobs post-graduation. Learn more: https://cunytechprep.nyc/
Lead Advisor
The Startup Doctor · Part-time
Jan 2019 – Present · 7 yrs 3 mos
New York, New York, United States
Startups are full of passion and promise. We bring experience, and the clarity of objectivity.
Steven Rosenbaum SizzleReel v6
Advisor
Echocast / Velocity Lab · Contract
Nov 2018 – Present · 7 yrs 5 mos
New York City Metropolitan Area
Project Plans and Business Networking
Mentor
Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator
Jul 2018 – Present · 7 yrs 9 mos
New York City Metropolitan Area
Early stage fund and technology accelerator located in New York City that runs two, four month programs per year. Initial funding is $100,000.
Fundraising and Business Networking
Executive Advisor
MakeSpace
Feb 2020 – Present · 6 yrs 2 mos
New York City Metropolitan Area
On-demand storage startup MakeSpace picks up another $55M
Sheltering-in-place and working from home curing COVID-19 has driven many of us to reorganize and de-clutter our living environments, and today one of the startups that is capitalizing on that trend is announcing a large round of funding to continue…
Business Networking
Consultant: Internet Enabled Video
IEEE Spectrum
Dec 2017 – Present · 8 yrs 4 mos
New York City Metropolitan Area
As a consultant focusing on OTT and Internet Enabled video, I help clients think through effective video production and distribution strategies. IEEE Spectrum is a significant creator of high-quality video content in the areas of Aerospace, Biomedical, Computing, Energy, Green Tech, Nanotechnology, Robotics, Semiconductors, Telecom, and Transportation. Working with the editorial and publishing team to build a sustainable production and disribution stratedy.
Columnist – MediaPost Tech Insider
MediaPost · Freelance
Jun 2017 – Present · 8 yrs 10 mos
New York, United States · Remote
TED Residency
TED Conferences
Mar 2017 – Present · 9 yrs 1 mo
New York City Metropolitan Area
The TED Residency program is an incubator for breakthrough ideas. Those chosen as TED Residents will spend fourteen weeks at TED headquarters in New York City, working on their ideas. Although some may produce an artwork, a manuscript, or an amazing theorem, each Resident will also develop a TED talk and deliver it on a TED stage.
TED Res – TED Talk –
This is “TED Res – TED Talk -” by Steve Rosenbaum on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
Building a museum at Ground Zero: Steve Rosenbaum on the TED Blog
TED Blog exclusive video: Steve Rosenbaum takes us on a private tour of the 9/11 Museum, under construction now at the site of the World Trade Center towers….
Project Lead / Founder
Magnify Media Media
Dec 2015 – Present · 10 yrs 4 mos
MagnifyMedia is a digital media consultancy that provides advisory services to publishers, media companies, and web-based digital content companies. With a unique background that includes technology, publishing platforms, and a deep understanding of changing consumer behaviors – MagnifyMedia is able to bridge the gap between how technologist want to deploy algorithmic solutions and how writers and digital producers want to give voice to their editorial output. Over the years our work has included projects for the worlds largest media companies (NBC, BBC, CNN) as well as some of the most innovative startups and entrepreneurs. We pride ourselves in producing editorial projects and frameworks that work for clients, advertisers and audience.
Shelly Palmer Chats With Steve Rosenbaum About Alternatives
NYC Media Lab
Full-time · 2 yrs 9 mos
New York City Metropolitan Area
Executive Director
Oct 2020 – May 2022 · 1 yr 8 mos
New York, NY, October 20 — Steven Rosenbaum has been named Executive Director of the NYC Media Lab, becoming just the third to hold that title in the organization’s ten-year history. The announcement, effective immediately, was made by the Steering Committee of the consortium. Rosenbaum had been serving as NYC Media Lab’s Managing Director since 2019. Founded in 2010, NYC Media Lab is dedicated to driving innovation and job growth in media and technology by facilitating collaboration between the City’s universities and companies.
Managing Director
Sep 2019 – Oct 2020 · 1 yr 2 mos
NYC Media Lab connects media and technology companies with New York City’s universities to drive innovation, entrepreneurship and talent development. A public-private partnership launched by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, NYC Media Lab funds projects and programs that foster collaboration across an array of disciplines and emerging technologies. The Combine, NYC Media Lab’s venture platform, helps companies connect to startups within the City’s thriving technology ecosystem.
Educational Lead
The Combine accelerator/incubator · Part-time
Sep 2019 – May 2022 · 2 yrs 9 mos
New York City Metropolitan Area · On-site
NYC Media Lab’s Combine accelerator brings together faculty and students from across the City’s universities to develop early stage startups that bridge emerging media and technology, a critical role in a city that has long been the global leader in both publishing and advertising.
The Combine serves as a spinoff engine where faculty and students commercialize their ideas with the support and mentorship of a community of faculty, entrepreneurs, media industry leaders and and technologists. In 2018, 11 startups from six universities were selected. The teams came from a range of disciplines—including data science, design, business, engineering and computer science—and employed emerging technologies such as augmented reality, machine learning and blockchain to address opportunities media and entertainment, health, smart cities and other industries.
IMG_8509.JPG
The NYC Media Lab’s COMBINE accelerator sets a goal of 100 customer interviews within the 12 weeks of the program. This isn’t negotiable, and the nature of the interviews is clearly prescribed. No friends, no family, no coworkers. It’s somewhat daunting, and that’s by design.
Director / Producer
The Outsider (film) · Self-employed
Jan 2008 – Sep 2021 · 13 yrs 9 mos
New York, United States
TheOutsider.Film
No one sets out to begin a film that will take twenty years to complete. And for Pam and I, storytelling has been a journey that we began when we met at college radio station and has continued through five companies, and almost five-hundred films. But September 11th was different. It happened in our backyard. Our first film 7 Days In September was a tribute to New York’s resilience and rebirth.
Consultant
EY
Mar 2018 – Mar 2020 · 2 yrs 1 mo
New York City Metropolitan Area
EYQ / Innovation Realized – 2018. Innovation Realized is an immersive and interactive retreat designed to help leaders catalyze innovation to transform their business and win in a digital world. The video that is recorded and produced at this event features some of the most engaging executives focused on the changing world of business today.
Senior Advisor
Rheo
Jan 2019 – Jan 2020 · 1 yr 1 mo
Rheo is the best way to watch, discover and react to great short videos on phone, tv and web. Rheo presents videos that you can watch or skip. These simple interactions teach Rheo what you like and don’t like. The experience makes discovery fun and effortless by eliminating search and delivering content according to mood. Worked with Apple wizard and CEO Alan Cannistraro
Executive Producer
Progress News Network / PNN
Jun 2018 – Sep 2019 · 1 yr 4 mos
New York City Metropolitan Area
News consumers today are confronted with a tangle of statements and assertions that run the gamut from purely factual to purely opinion. Being able to quickly tell where a news statement fits on that spectrum is key to being an informed reader or viewer. But it’s become more difficult to distinguish factual news statements from opinions. PNN fights Fake News with Facts.
Advisor
Snakt
Jan 2016 – Jan 2018 · 2 yrs 1 mo
San Francisco Bay Area
Snakt’s mission is to empower creation and communication through video, and to allow anyone in the world to “speak” video. The future of human expression, communication, art, and freedom depend on it. https://www.snakt.com/our-team/
Forbes – Tech Blogger
Forbes · Freelance
Feb 2012 – Mar 2017 · 5 yrs 2 mos
New York, United States · Remote
Contributor
Curator-in-Chief
Waywire Global
2013 – Jan 2017 · 4 yrs 1 mo
New York City Metropolitan Area
Waywire was conceived to be a millennial-focused “Pinterest for video” when launched by then Newark Mayor Cory Booker. After I led a competitive bidding process and acquisition, and merged the revenues and assets of Magnify into a hybrid SaaS and consumer play using the new Waywire brand. Today Waywire provides cloud-based video curation solutions for the online publishing, community, and ad network markets. It offers an online video curation platform that enables brands to complement their original video production efforts with third-party video content, increasing their video footprint in the process.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: • Acquired company from now US Senator Cory Booker • Added investors Reid Hoffman, Eric Schmidt, Oprah Winfrey and Jeff Weiner • Conceived, Designed, Tested, and Launched a new narrowcast video network • Grew team of content experts from 5 to over 60, created curator network • Increased SaaS revenues by 150% – reaching $2.5M in platform sales
Steven Rosenbaum welcomes Waywire users.
Entrepreneur At Large
NYC Economic Development Corporation
2011 – Jan 2014 · 3 yrs 1 mo
110 William Street
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) today announced that Steven Rosenbaum, author, curator, and founder and CEO of Magnify.net, will serve as the City’s first ever Entrepreneur at Large. In this new role, Steven will tap into his deep roots within New York’s tech and entrepreneurial community in order to strengthen and further develop the City’s already strong connections with the community.
“We are thrilled to welcome Steven to NYCEDC as our first-ever Entrepreneur at Large,” said New York City Economic Development President Seth W. Pinsky. “New York City is steadily establishing itself as a global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship – a sector of our economy that is certain to be a future source of high-quality jobs. With the launch of this exciting new initiative, we will strengthen our connections to the City’s entrepreneurial community, and be able to offer our most promising entrepreneurs the type of expertise and guidance that will allow their businesses to continue to grow and flourish.”
Head of Sales / Product Lead
Magnify SaaS
2010 – Apr 2013 · 3 yrs 4 mos
To meet market opportunities, the consumer self-serve Magnify UGC platform pivoted to a cloud-based SaaS offering. Leading the review and implementation, grew sales from $0 to almost $2m landing “A” list clients including: Patagonia, AARP, New York Magazine, TEDx, CES Columbia University, Time Out NY, CES, Mediaite, Haymarket, Penton, Rodale, Boston Magazine, The Sands Casino, The Root, Gay Ad Network and Outdoor Life. ACCOMPLISHMENTS: • Worldwide growth grew by 174% in six months • Page views totaled 15,745,953, a 23.71% increase • Raised round of venture and debt financing
Author
“Curation Nation” – McGraw Hill
Jan 2010 – Jan 2011 · 1 yr 1 mo
TOC 2011: Steve Rosenbaum, “CURATION: Beyond The Buzzword”
Co-Founder / Chief Evangelist
Magnify UGC Platform
Jan 2007 – Jan 2010 · 3 yrs 1 mo
After recognizing the need for more internet video, conceived the process of video curation, wireframed the platform, recruited a CTO, raised seed financing – and launched the company at the widely acclaimed DEMO conference in Scottsdale Az.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
- Increased sales 90% YOY, bringing venture-backed company to CFBO in 3 years
- Provided curated content from providers including YouTube, AOL, NBC, Conde Nast, BBC News, Reuters, Brightcove, DailyMotion, Vimeo, Metacafe, Veoh, eHow, and Blip.tv
- Raised angel funding, grew revenue, users, and traffic. Raised A and B rounds
Executive Producer / Creator
MTV News Unfiltered · Full-time
Apr 1995 – May 1999 · 4 yrs 2 mos
New York, New York, United States · On-site
MTV News is about to launch a new show in association with spunky independent production company Broadcast News. Dubbed “Unfiltered,” the half-hour show will glean its material from MTV viewers, who will shoot stories they’ve developed with MTV-provided camcorders. A test spot soliciting story ideas from viewers that ran only eight times resulted in more than 12,000 calls to an MTV News 800 number. Segments from the “Unfiltered” pilot include a teenage hacker’s first-person story of his computer exploits and confrontation with the police.
Source: LinkedIn
Education
NYU Gallatin
Master’s degree, The Future of Truth
Sep 2021 – May 2024
M.A. Candidate at Gallatin School of Individualized Study, NYU. Studying “The History, Present State, and future of Truth.”
Skidmore College
BA, English
1979 – 1983
Skidmore College
BA, English
1979 – 1983
Skills
Journalism
Business Networking
High Energy Level
Nonprofit Organizations
Fundraising
Project Plans
Interpersonal Skills
Cross-functional Team Leadership
Project Management
Problem Solving
Management
Communication
Content Strategy
Digital Strategy
Digital Media
Strategic Partnerships
New Media
Web Video
Social Media
Entrepreneurship
Publishing
Social Networking
E-commerce
Leadership
Marketing Strategy
Digital Marketing
Social Media Marketing
New Business Development
Start-ups
Online Marketing
Business Strategy
Program Management
Documentaries
Digital Curation
Content Development
Entrepreneur
Strategic Planning
Content Management
Producer / Social Media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat) • Blog and Video Blog Producer • WordPress, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro (7, 10), Premier, YouTube, Amazon Video Direct, Facebook.
Social Media Communications
Audience Development and Engagement
Digital Media Integration
Editing
Public Speaking
Video Production
Marketing
Online Advertising
Content Curation
Volunteering
Section 230 Task Force Member
Issue One
Jun 2024 – Present · 1 yr 10 mos
Science and Technology
Council For Responsible Social Media: Section 230 Task Force The Council for Responsible Social Media is a bipartisan group addressing the harmful impacts of social media on mental health, civic life, and public health. Social media, once seen as a tool for global connection, now poses threats like political polarization, degraded mental health, and weakened democracy.
Organizer / Host
NY Video Meetup
Oct 2010 – 2017 · 6 yrs 4 mos
Science and Technology
The NY Video Meetup is the world’s largest organization of online video entrepreneurs. We meet monthly in NYC to showcase and discuss the emerging trends of our industry. Each month local startups, content producers and big media companies demo in front of hundreds of peers followed by bi-directional Q&A. Industry thought leaders are also interviewed in our “Founder DNA” Series. Our goal is to bring the local online video community closer together and to inspire and help each other succeed by sharing our collective experience. Founded Jun 27, 2006 – I took over organizing and running the meeting up in October of 2010.
Our website: http://www.nyvideo.org
Advisory Board Member
Disruptive Technologists
Apr 2017 – Present · 9 yrs
Science and Technology
Disruptive Technologists ® …and the entrepreneurial culture in New York City The people that interrupt the normal course or unity with technology. They are the game-changers, the brilliant thinkers, the hackers, the founders and the people that finance them.
Steven Rosenbaum is an Author, Filmmaker, and Technologist. He’s founded five companies in the content space, with a drive to connect consumers, storytellers, and brands. Rosenbaum is known as the father of UGC (user-generated content) as the creator of the groundbreaking series MTV News Unfiltered. Today – he’s thinking about the future of news and information – as a member of the TED Residency in NYC.
Board Member
Awesome Foundation
Jan 2011 – Jan 2014 · 3 yrs 1 mo
Arts and Culture
New York is bubbling with creativity and we are looking to fund really cool projects that touch everything from tech to social to art to media to education. Do you have a great idea? Apply for an AwesomeNYC grant today! We want to know how you’re going to use the $1,000 – show us that you’ve thought this thing through Our application deadline is always the last day of the month and we meet on the first Monday of every month to review the previous month’s submissions.
Advisor
VideoInk
Jan 2015 – Present · 11 yrs 3 mos
Education
VideoInk is the definitive authority on video-related news and industry analysis. Likened to a Deadline/Variety, VideoInk covers everything and everyone involved in the industry, including — but not limited to — deal makers, deal mechanics, and deal outcomes, as well as critical reviews, CEO/company profiles, various industry round-ups, and big picture trend stories. Our research and insights group — Cognito — also services data and trend analysis.
Advisor
CUNY Tech Prep
May 2021 – Present · 4 yrs 11 mos
Education
CUNY Tech Prep CUNY (City University of New York)
Supporting CUNY Tech Prep in its mission to equip NYC’s diverse public university students with industry-aligned training, career readiness, and pathways into the tech workforce. Focused on ethical innovation, media literacy, and bridging public interest technology with real-world application.
Patents
Video curation platform with pre-roll advertisements for discovered content
US US8812956 B1 · Issued Aug 19, 2014
A video curation platform displays curated video channels in the form of markup language pages. A page delivered to client machine includes thumbnails of video content that an end user may select and view. The markup language page includes a first container for supporting a first media player, and a second container for supporting a third party media player that is embedded from a content source. The containers are aligned, one in front of the other. The markup language page also includes control logic adapted to be executed in hardware at a client machine when an end user selects video content to be viewed (i) to render first content in the first media player, (ii) upon completing the first content, to automatically hide the first media player and reveal the third party media player; and (iii) to render the video content in the third party media player.
Hosted video discovery and publishing platform
US US8117545 B2 · Issued Feb 14, 2012
A hosted system provides any Internet user with the ability to quickly set up and customize a video channel, preferably as a web page or site that can be reached from any Internet-accessible device having a web browser. The solution includes tools for use by channel site creators to customize the look, feel, and page design. A particular web page or site may be associated with a given subject. As used herein, a page or site that has such an association is sometimes referred to as “subject-specific.” Once a subject-specific channel is created, a site administrator or individual visitors can search across the web and choose to bring those search results into the channel architecture. The system also enables a multiplatform search as an integrated part of a library build; if desired, search results are automatically populated into the channel content. The system also enables the characterization of the material returned, preferably according to a user-generated taxonomy.
Honors & awards
Science Journalism Laureate
Issued by Purdeu University · Nov 2011
Associated with Magnify SaaS
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN- Author and CEO Steven Rosenbaum will join the ranks of Science Journalism Laureates at Purdue University on Nov. 10th, 2011. The laureates are selected based on their reputation for thought-provoking work and aptitude for translating scientific discoveries into a format the public can easily understand. “Science journalists represent a critical step in research: communication,” said professor Gabriela Weaver, co-organizer of the Science Journalism Laureates program with professor Howard Sypher.
Causes
Children • Civil Rights and Social Action • Economic Empowerment • Education • Environment • Human Rights • Politics • Poverty Alleviation • Science and Technology • Social Services
Web Links
Videos
SXSW Truth Under Fire: AI, Reality, and the Fight for What’s Real Talk
March 17, 2026 (46:15)
By: SustainableMedia.Center
At SXSW, Steven Rosenbaum takes on one of the biggest questions of our time: what happens when AI makes reality cheap, scalable, and increasingly hard to trust? Drawing on stories from magic, Plato’s cave, The Matrix, journalism, law, love, work, and politics, he argues that we are not just facing a misinformation problem. We are living through a deeper crisis in which proof is easier to fake, certainty is easier to sell, and the systems shaping our lives are optimized for engagement, speed, and profit, not truth.
Rosenbaum explores how AI-generated content, algorithmic authority, and platform incentives are changing the way we understand news, justice, intimacy, and democracy itself. His core warning is simple but urgent: when people no longer know they are watching a trick, the social contract breaks. And when proof becomes cheap, truth becomes expensive.
But this is not a doom talk. It is a call to action. Rosenbaum argues that truth is not dead, and we are not powerless. If we learn to question incentives, resist machine certainty, protect human friction, and stay engaged in the messy work of judgment, we can still shape a future in which truth survives. As he puts it, truth is not something delivered to us. Truth is something we do.
Gen Z vs. the Algorithm: Building a New Public Square
(09:21)
By: SMC
In this talk, Steve Rosenbaum and Emma Lembke from the Sustainable Media Center lay out why the digital paublic square is falling apart — and what it will take to rebuild it.
They argue that today’s social platforms profit from division, turning public conversation into a commodity and eroding trust across communities, markets, and democracy itself.
Emma shares her own experience growing up inside the algorithm and explains how Gen Z is pushing back by organizing, advocating, and redesigning digital spaces from the inside out.
Steve reflects on the early promise of the internet and how algorithmic systems have reversed much of that optimism.
Together, they introduce the Sustainable Media Center’s initiatives: Actv8.Media, a Gen Z–led incubator building healthier platforms; the Social Intelligence Framework, which reimagines data control and AI; and a new Safe Social certification to help families and policymakers recognize healthier digital environments.
Their call to action is straightforward: treat conversation as public infrastructure, fund alternatives to outrage-driven platforms, and build a digital world where truth and trust support both democracy and the economy.
The public square isn’t lost — it’s unfinished — and they invite partners to help build what comes next.
The Truth with Steve Rosenbaum
March 23, 2026 (47:08)
By: The Futurists Podcast – Robert Tercek & Brett King
Steve Rosenbaum is an author and entrepreneur who co-founded the Sustainable Media Center, where he advocates for better protection for the users of abusive social media platforms. Now in his new book The Future of Truth: How AI Reshapes Reality, Steve turns his attention to the perils of a digital world defined by the funhouse mirror of machine intelligence. Steve acquaints the Futurists with the perils and potential of AI fragmenting audiences and distorting our collective understanding of subjective truth.
Building a museum at Ground Zero: Steve Rosenbaum on the TED Blog
May 1, 2012 (08:00)
By: TED Blog Video
TED Blog exclusive video: Steve Rosenbaum takes us on a private tour of the 9/11 Museum, under construction now at the site of the World Trade Center towers. Below, he talks about why he joined the effort to create a memorial of the people and events of September 11, 2001.
Why did you decide to document the curation and construction of the 9/11 Museum?
On the day the towers fell, I was standing on my roof at 28th and 5th — and and I ended up working with a team of amazing filmmakers to record the day, and the week that followed. I made a film called “7 Days In September” and it always felt unfinished to me. Yes, there was 9/11 — but it seemed to me that history would care more about what happened next. So I just felt a strong call to go back, and be there with a camera to record what would happen and how the city would turn the anger into something important.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve seen so far?
The Museum is underground, built to allow visitors to see the architectural heart of the story — the foundation of the Twin Towers. The space underground is massive, it’s a seven story space, with 80,000 sq ft of exhibition space. Visitors will see the crushed remains of FDNY Ladder 3, the towering “Last Column” and a number of other large artifacts. But I think the most surprising thing for me are the smaller artifacts and the human stories. I thought I’d heard every story possible, but time and time again the memories of those we lost are still haunting.
How do you think people will feel when they leave the museum?
I think that it will be a very emotional journey — and certainly painful at some points. But also inspirational in some ways that may surprise you. The Memorial Team talks a lot about building a living institution, and I think they’re accomplishing that. People will come from around the world. Adults who were teens ten years ago will come. People with different religious beliefs, different cultural perspectives, and different political and social backgrounds. The museum needs to speak to all of them, and tell the story without bias or an agenda. It’s huge complex task — but everything I’ve seen tells me that they’re accomplishing that.
When will it open, and when will your film be done?
There is no firm date, but the latest estimates I’ve seen say mid-summer 2013. There’s no doubt that the project has had to overcome some speed bumps and sort out some funding debates. But this isn’t something that should be rushed, or opened prematurely. It’s important they get the story right. The film has become more than a documentary — it’s a digital record of the process of the Museum’s construction and curatorial process. The people at the Museum have been generous and given me the opportunity to witness the complex and emotional construction process. And I’ve committed to not rushing the filmmaking. So, once the Museum is open, we’ll wrap our production and start post production. Probably a year or more after that.
Steven SizzleReel v6
January 11, 2023 (03:06)
By: Magnify Media /BNN / CameraPlanet /
Steven Rosenbaum – The Outsider
August 14, 2021 (26:29)
By: The Jan Price Show
Emmy-Award Winning Documentary Filmmaker, Steven Rosenbaum discusses with Jan Price his new documentary, “The Outsider” – available to stream globally on August 19th, 2021!
Michael Shulan was a struggling novelist and co-owner of a storefront space in New York’s trendy Soho neighborhood. The attacks on the World Trade Center changed his life forever. He and three friends turned his Spring Street space into a now-famous crowdsourced photo exhibit called “Here Is New York.” For five years, he was known as the world’s leading expert on 9/11 photography. Then, the lifelong outsider was invited to be part of something big. Shulan was named the Creative Director of the National 9/11 Museum at Ground Zero. This is the story of his dream job and how it turned against him. His vision of an open, inclusive, participatory place for America to engage in the painful, personal story of 9/11 goes wrong. His role as creative leader turns into a daily battle to keep his vision alive.
The End of Fake News
November 1, 2017 (06:18)
By: TED Residency
Today content we disagree with is labeled “fake” – even If it’s factually correct, says digital video innovator Steven Rosenbaum. But he sees a surprising and positive future head. As “Fake” news evolves into a new “Awake News” creator and consumer.
Steven Rosenbaum has been at the crossroads of new technology and storytelling as he founded and lead five companies. A filmmaker, author and journalist (7 Days In September, MTV Unfiltered, Curation Nation). He sees the “fake news” crisis as an invitation to rethink the very nature of news, and help consumers take responsibility for we the find, create, and share information.
Innovate — curation!
June 6, 2011 (15:00)
By: TEDx Talks
In a world of bandwidth and content abundance, we’re overwhelmed with data, tweets, blogs, check in’s and media. It used to be we surfed the web. Now the waves of the web are just too big. Curation is the new magic that makes the web work. Bringing the web back to human scale with human filters you trust and love. A powerful mix of passion and context turns noise back into signal.
Books
The Future of Truth: How AI Reshapes Reality
Source: Amazon
Product details
- ASIN : B0FXBDYDG7
- Publisher : Matt Holt Books
- Accessibility : Learn more
- Publication date : May 12, 2026
- Language : English
- File size : 1.5 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 287 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-1637749111
- Page Flip : Enabled
Truth was never simple, but facts were facts. Now, even that is changing. You feel the drift—the blur—as stories bend, facts fracture, and reality starts to feel . . . negotiable.
That’s not failure—it’s the fight for the future of Truth.
In The Future of Truth, we go on a truth treasure hunt. Author, filmmaker, and media explorer Steven Rosenbaum sets out to understand how this is happening—and what comes next. What begins as a personal investigation becomes something stranger and more urgent: a story about systems captured, consensus collapsing, and humans caught in the digital crossfire.
In these pages, we’ll explore:
- How Truth is being bent, blurred, and synthesized, and how the ways we love, work, learn, and remember are changing—even history is no longer trusted
- Why institutions we recently trusted—medicine, education, justice, journalism—are collapsing under pressure of fast-moving, profit-driven AI
- What happens when war is waged with data, protests are hijacked by bots, and power hides behind precision algorithms
- How, in their hunger for clarity, robots erase Truth’s messy, beautiful middle, replacing it with something cold, confident, and designed to serve soulless AI, not the humans who built it
At the heart of the book are exclusive, provocative conversations with some of the most original thinkers of our time:
- wild-haired philosopher David Chalmers calls it “a simulated reality crisis.”
- Cultural provocateur Douglas Rushkoff says, “Truth has been coded for profit.”
- Legal legend Larry Lessig warns of “an attention economy built to distort.”
- AI truth-teller Gary Marcus sees “confidence without comprehension.”
- Gen Z literary leader Hailey Colborn, raised inside the feed, says “Truth isn’t something you find—it’s something you perform.”
- And futurists and reformers Juan Enriquez, Esther Dyson, Steve Fuller, and Eli Pariser each offer raw, urgent, and provocative visions on where Truth is headed—and whether we can still catch it before it falls off a cliff.
Part cultural investigation, part memoir, and part manifesto, The Future of Truth is a wild journey into the collapse—and the humans determined to rebuild Truth into something better, before AI rewrites reality without us.
Curate This!: The Hands-On, How-To Guide To Content Curation
Source: Amazon
The concept of “Curation” has rapidly moved from museums to digital media. As the sheer volume of Tweets, Likes, Blogs, videos overwhelm the web, publishers and brands are increasingly being asked to provide a human face to content organization and editorial curation. With the right framework, curation can be a powerful tool to help editorial meet new challenges.
Product details
- ASIN : B00QJOC5WM
- Publisher : Magnify Media
- Accessibility : Learn more
- Publication date : December 3, 2014
- Edition : V2
- Language : English
- File size : 2.1 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 331 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-0990884514
Curation Nation: How to Win in a World Where Consumers are Creators
Source: Amazon
Business Leaders Are Buzzing About Curation Nation
“An indispensible guide to the brave new media world.”
—Arianna Huffington, editor in chief, the Huffington Post
“Gives me hope for the future of the Information Age. Rosenbaum argues for the growing importance of people—creative, smart, hip—who can spot trends, find patterns, and make meaning out of the flood of data that threatens to overwhelm us.”
—Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of Drive
“A testament to the strategic mind of a genius and a road map for developing engaging consumer experiences by curating content around your brand.”
—Bonin Bough, Global Director, Digital and Social Media, PepsiCo
“Perfectly on-trend—an insightful guide to the future. So entertaining you won’t put it down.”
—Chris Meyer, author of Blur
“Read this book. Embrace curation, and you’ll be ready to ‘crush it’ with focus and passion in the noisy new world of massive data overload.”
—Gary Vaynerchuk, New York Times bestselling author of Crush It
“Provides a wealth of real-world examples of how businesses can use the Web to give their customers a valuable curated experience.”
—Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com, and New York Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness
“Our best hope for sorting the good from the mediocre in our increasingly overwhelming media landscape.”
—Clay Shirky, author of Cognitive Surplus and Here Comes Everybody
About the Book:
Let’s face it, we’re drowning in data. Our inboxes are flooded with spam, we have too many “friends” on Facebook, and our Twitter accounts have become downright unmanageable. Creating content is easy; finding what matters is hard.
Fortunately, there is a new magic that makes the Web work. It’s called curation, and it enables people to sort through the digital excess and find what’s relevant.
In Curation Nation, Steven Rosenbaum reveals why brands, publishers, and content entrepreneurs must embrace aggregation and curation to grow an existing business or launch a new one. In fact, he asserts that curation is the only way to be competitive in the future.
Overwhelmed by too much content, people are hungry for an experience that both takes advantage of the Web’s breadth and depth and provides a measure of human sorting and filtering that search engines simply can’t achieve. In these shifting sands lies an extraordinary business opportunity: you can become a trusted source of value in an otherwise meaningless chaos of digital noise.
In Curation Nation, Rosenbaum “curates the curators” by gathering together priceless insight and advice from the top thinkers in media, advertising, publishing, commerce, and Web technologies. This groundbreaking book levels the playing field, giving your business equal access to the content abundance presently driving consumer adoption of the Web.
As the sheer volume of digital information in the world increases, the demand for quality and context becomes more urgent. Curation will soon be a part of your business and your digital world. Understand it now, join in early, and reap the many benefits Curation Nation has to offer.
Learn more at CurationNation.org.
NotebookLM Experiments
Inforgraphic
Replaced a generic graphical image of a man with Steven’s latest instagram photo
Briefing Doc
Briefing Document: Steven Rosenbaum and the Sustainable Media Center
Executive Summary
This briefing document synthesizes the work and philosophy of Steven Rosenbaum, the Executive Director of the Sustainable Media Center (SMC), with a specific focus on the evolving landscape of digital media, the crisis of truth precipitated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the emergence of legal accountability for social media platforms.
Critical Takeaways:
- Legal Inflection Point: A landmark Los Angeles jury verdict (K.G.M. v. Meta Platforms, Inc.) found Meta and YouTube negligent in platform design, signaling a shift from mere awareness of social media harm to legal accountability.
- The Crisis of Truth: The rise of AI-generated content has created a environment where truth is increasingly “negotiable” and manufactured at scale, leading to a breakdown in the social contract.
- Human Curation as a Solution: Amidst algorithmic “noise,” human curation—the selection and contextualization of content—is presented as the essential mechanism for restoring “signal” and trust to the internet.
- The Sustainability Mission: The Sustainable Media Center advocates for an ethical digital ecosystem through intergenerational collaboration (Gen Z and established leaders), focusing on data ownership, decentralized protocols, and “Safe Social” certifications.
——————————————————————————–
I. Steven Rosenbaum: Professional Background and Influence
Steven Rosenbaum is an American entrepreneur, filmmaker, and author recognized as a pioneer in video curation and user-generated content (UGC).
Key Roles and Accomplishments
- Father of UGC: Created MTV News Unfiltered, one of the first broadcast programs to utilize viewer-generated footage.
- Documentary Filmmaker: Notable works include 7 Days in September (documenting the week after 9/11) and The Outsider (the story of the National 9/11 Museum’s creation).
- Tech Entrepreneur: Founded Magnify.net (later Waywire), a video curation platform, and holds patents in video discovery and advertising technology.
- Author: Published several foundational texts on digital media, including Curation Nation, Curate This!, and the upcoming The Future of Truth: How AI Reshapes Reality (scheduled for 2026).
——————————————————————————–
II. Landmark Legal Developments: Accountability for Platform Harm
The Sustainable Media Center has highlighted the case of K.G.M. v. Meta Platforms, Inc., et al. as a “bellwether” trial for the technology industry.
The Verdict (March 26, 2026)
A Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in the design and operation of their platforms, awarding $3 million in damages. The jury assigned 70% responsibility to Meta and 30% to YouTube for causing harm to a young user.
Strategic Implications
- Rejection of the “Passive Host” Defense: The verdict rejects the long-standing argument that platforms are merely passive hosts. As Rosenbaum noted, “It recognizes that these systems are engineered environments, and that engineering carries responsibility.”
- Design as Outcome: The ruling establishes that platform designs intended to maximize time and emotional response cannot be separated from the psychological outcomes they produce.
- The “Big Tobacco” Parallel: Observers have compared these legal challenges to the 1990s litigation against Big Tobacco, which led to massive settlements and strict regulations regarding marketing to minors.
“Profiting from misinformation just got a lot harder to do.” — Steven Rosenbaum
——————————————————————————–
III. The Crisis of Truth in the Age of AI
Rosenbaum’s current work focuses on the “Crisis of Truth,” a phenomenon where machine intelligence fragments audiences and distorts collective understanding.
Central Arguments from “The Future of Truth”
- Synthetic Reality: Machines can now manufacture believable fictions at a scale and speed that erases the “signal” telling audiences where reality ends and fabrication begins.
- The Cost of Truth: As Rosenbaum posits, “When proof becomes cheap, truth becomes expensive.” The ease of faking evidence makes genuine truth harder to maintain and verify.
- Institutional Collapse: Trusted institutions—including medicine, education, and journalism—are struggling under the pressure of fast-moving, profit-driven AI systems.
- Algorithmic Authority: Systems are currently optimized for engagement and profit rather than accuracy, leading to “confidence without comprehension.”
——————————————————————————–
IV. Curation: Restoring Human Scale to the Internet
A core theme across Rosenbaum’s career is the necessity of curation to combat data overload.
The Philosophy of Curation
- From Surfing to Drowning: Rosenbaum argues that the “waves of the web” have become too large for traditional browsing.
- Human Filters: Curation is defined as the “new magic” that brings the web back to a human scale. It relies on passion and context to turn digital noise back into a meaningful signal.
- The Business Case: In Curation Nation, Rosenbaum argues that curation is the only way for brands and publishers to remain competitive, as users are “hungry for an experience that… provides a measure of human sorting and filtering that search engines simply can’t achieve.”
——————————————————————————–
V. The Sustainable Media Center (SMC) and “The People’s Internet”
The SMC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to bridging the divide between researchers and the technology industry to build a healthier digital ecosystem.
Key Initiatives and Frameworks
| Initiative | Focus Area |
|---|---|
| Actv8.Media | A Gen Z-led incubator building healthier, alternative digital platforms. |
| Social Intelligence Framework | Reimagining data control and how AI interacts with personal information. |
| Safe Social Certification | A system to help families and policymakers identify healthy digital environments. |
| Section 230 Task Force | Bipartisan efforts to address the harmful impacts of social media on mental health and democracy. |
The “People’s Internet” Movement
The SMC advocates for a move toward decentralized protocols and user data ownership. This includes exploring:
- Protocols: Solid Protocol (data ownership), ActivityPub, AT Protocol, and Nostr.
- Decentralized Apps: Alternatives like Mastodon, Bluesky, MeWe, and WeAre8.
- Data Ownership: A shift away from platform-owned data to user-controlled “pods” (via Solid) or decentralized identity.
——————————————————————————–
VI. Conclusion: The Call to Action
The provided sources conclude that while the digital “public square” is currently fractured, it is not beyond repair. The work of the Sustainable Media Center and Steven Rosenbaum suggests that the future of the internet requires a shift from machine-led engagement to human-led judgment.
Key Recommendations for a Sustainable Future:
- Treat conversation as public infrastructure rather than a commodity.
- Question the incentives of systems optimized for speed and profit.
- Stay engaged in the “messy work of judgment” rather than deferring to algorithmic certainty.
- Fund and build alternatives to outrage-driven platforms.
“Truth is not something delivered to us. Truth is something we do.” — Steven Rosenbaum
Video Explainer
Wikipedia
Steven J. Rosenbaum is an American author, entrepreneur and filmmaker. He was a Resident at TED in New York City[1] and holds two patents in the areas of video curation and advertising technology. Rosenbaum is the co-founder and executive director of the Sustainable Media Center.
After the September 11, 2001, attacks, documentary filmmaker Steven Rosenbaum dispatched crews around the city and placed a classified ad in the Village Voice, inviting New Yorkers to contribute video footage as a way to "contribute to history.” He later chose the New York Public Library as the archive’s permanent home to ensure free, uncensored public access. Rosenbaum hopes future generations will continue to discover new and surprising meanings within it.[2]
He was an executive director of the NYC Media Lab from 2020 to 2022.[3]
Career
Rosenbaum founded Broadcast News Network (BNN).[4] He also acted as the company's executive producer for the company's main program Broadcast New York.[5] In 1991 the show was awarded a New York Regional Emmy for "Outstanding Magazine Format Programming",[6] and "Outstanding Issues Programming - Segments". Later, Rosenbaum was nominated for a national Emmy Award for "Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking" for the film With All Deliberate Speed'[7]
In 1995, he created MTV News: Unfiltered; a half-hour show on MTV featuring first-person stories provided by viewers and curated by the show's producers. The show would typically feature content not covered by traditional media and was the first commercial use of UGC, User-Generated Content.[8]
In 2001, while working on a shoot for Animal Planet, he witnessed the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. He directed his five film crews to Manhattan to capture the devastating aftermath of the attacks. This footage would later become the documentary "7 Days in September"[9] (winner of CINE Golden Eagle[10] and Telly Award[11]) and go on to become a research archive of meticulously curated amateur video known as The CameraPlanet Archive The 500 Hours of 9/11 [12]) which Rosenbaum donated[2] to the National 9/11 Memorial Museum.[13]
Later in 2001, he launched CameraPlanet.com; a web-based video shop that created television content and encouraged users to create their own content by providing them with tips on how to tell their own story. The site featured many categories like “beaches” and “pets” and each video featured about four minutes of footage created entirely by the users.[14]
In 2005, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking for his work in "With All Deliberate Speed" for the Discovery Channel. The documentary, which was released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education ruling of 1954, examines via newsreel footage and interviews the events that led to the landmark decision.[15]
In 2006, he founded Magnify.net, a New York-based startup focused on developing a video aggregation and curation platform. The company spent seven years building a steady business providing tools to enterprise clients who wished to manage and curate their own channels of video content.
In 2013 Magnify acquired Waywire, a video-sharing website founded by the former mayor of Newark, Cory Booker. In April 2014, Magnify.net adopted the Waywire name for its existing enterprise software business. One of the main objectives of the acquisition was to build a consumer-facing business around the curation of videos online.[16]
In 2019, Rosenbaum joined the NYC Media Lab, a consortium of university partners focused on media innovation. He was promoted to executive firector in 2020.[17] In 2022 he founded The Sustainable Media Center, whose mission is to improve media sustainability.[18]
Rosenbaum has also acted as a Member of the Social Media Week: New York advisory board,[19] as a Member of the FASTPACK 200 and was also named the first-Ever Entrepreneur at Large for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, offering his expertise as an author and curator to help startup businesses in the New York Area grow and develop.[20]
Rosenbaum is a frequent writer for websites including MediaPost, Forbes, The Huffington Post and The Columbia Journalism Review.
Patents
Rosenbaum has two patents in the areas of video curation and advertising technology. A year after YouTube was founded, Rosenbaum filed Patent No. 8,117,545 "Hosted video discovery and publishing platform" which was granted in 2012.[21] And in 2014 Patent No. 208,812,956 "Video curation platform with pre-roll advertisements for discovered content"
Filmography
As a producer
- 1995: MTV News: Unfiltered – TV series documentary; executive producer
- 1996: Investigative Reports – TV series; executive producer; 3 episodes
- 1997: 48 Hours – TV series documentary; executive producer; 1 episode
- 2000: MSNBC Investigates – TV series documentary; executive producer; 1 episode
- 2001: I-Witness[22][23] – TV series documentary; executive producer; 2003
- 2002: Facing Arthur – documentary short; executive producer
- 2002: 7 Days in September – documentary; executive producer
- 2002: Dog Days – TV Mini-Series documentary; executive producer
- 2002: Strictly Personal – TV series; executive producer; 2002–2003[24]
- 2004: Staffers – TV series documentary; executive producer
- 2004: With All Deliberate Speed – documentary; executive producer[25]
- 2006: God Grew Tired of Us – documentary; executive producer
As a director
- 2002: Doctors' Diaries – TV series documentary
- 2002: 7 Days in September – documentary
- 2002: Dog Days – TV mini-series documentary
- 2003: Journalists: Killed in the Line of Duty – TV movie documentary
- 2004: Staffers – TV series documentary
- 2021: The Outsider – documentary; director; executive producer[26]
Publications
- Peer-to-Peer Video: The Economics, Policy, and Culture of Today's New Mass Medium (Springer, 2008)
- Curation Nation (McGraw Hill, 2011)
- Curate This (2014)
- "The Future of Truth: How AI Reshapes Reality" (Simon & Schuster, 2026)[1]
References
- ^ "Meet the Spring 2017 class of TED Residents | TED Blog". Ted.
- ^ a b "A Collective Video Diary of 9/11, in 500 Hours The New York Public Library has acquired what may be the largest collection of crowdsourced footage of the attacks and the shellshocked aftermath". The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
- ^ "The NYC Media Lab at NYU Tandon names Steven Rosenbaum Executive Director | NYU Tandon School of Engineering" (PDF).
- ^ Walker, Rob (April 30, 1997). "He's Making News - for the Future". Fast Company. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
- ^ Carter, Bill (September 21, 1992). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Company Tries to Fill Holes in Local TV News". Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ "New York Emmy Award Winners 1990-1991" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 7, 2025.
- ^ "With All Deliberate Speed". Emmys.
- ^ "MTV News 'Unfiltered'". Variety. April 3, 1995. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- ^ "7 Days in September". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
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