Independent Journalist & Public Speaker
Ahmed Baba is an independent journalist, political analyst, and civic technologist whose pro-democracy content reaches millions.
He founded Ahmed Baba News, a bestselling Substack publication.
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Check out more of Ahmed’s appearances here.
Journalism
Ahmed Baba is an independent journalist, political analyst, civic technologist, and founder of the bestselling Substack publication Ahmed Baba News. He was previously a columnist at The Independent for five years and a co-founder of Rantt Media for over ten years.
For over a decade, his work has focused on analyzing current events through a pro-democracy lens, exposing the dynamics of authoritarianism, and combating disinformation. Ahmed documented every day of Trump’s first term in his Rantt Media column. He was then among the first to cover Project 2025 in 2023, and went on to become one of the leading voices analyzing its implementation in Trump’s second term.
Ahmed has over 250k followers across social media, where his work has reached hundreds of millions, and has made dozens of appearances on MS NOW, CNN, and NewsNation.
For bookings, contact:
Ahmed at ahmed@rantt.com
Public Speaking
In addition to his journalism, Ahmed is a public speaker. Ahmed has given speeches, delivered guest lectures, and spoken on panels discussing American politics, democracy, civil rights, media literacy, technology, disinformation, social media, and culture.
In his guest lectures, Ahmed has spoken to thousands of college, high school, and middle school students on media literacy, technology, and disinformation.
Ahmed presents the history of disinformation, personal media literacy tactics, and broader anti-disinformation tools. Ahmed’s media literacy lectures are non-partisan and are customizable to the needs of your specific org/school. You can learn more about his media literacy talks here.
Most recently, Ahmed delivered the keynote address at the Wisconsin Capitol Rotunda for their 46th annual MLK Day celebration in January 2026. It’s the longest-running MLK Day commemoration in the country. You can watch the closing of the speech above, which garnered a standing ovation, and the full speech here. It was broadcast on PBS Wisconsin. Here’s some positive local press on the speech.
For speaking inquiries, contact:
Ahmed directly at ahmed@rantt.com
Speaking Topics
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Leveraging his background in tech, Ahmed has spent his decade-long journalism career helping people navigate an information environment designed to confuse, inflame, and divide. Ahmed speaks to students, parents, educators, and civic leaders, breaking down how disinformation spreads, why smart people fall for it, and how to build habits of mind that hold up under pressure.
Ahmed gives audiences practical frameworks they can use immediately, including how to evaluate sources, spot narrative manipulation, and communicate across differences. These talks can be tailored for schools, universities, nonprofits, and companies that need clearer thinking and stronger internal communication in a chaotic media landscape.
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Over a decade-long career in journalism, Ahmed has tracked how authoritarian movements take power: normalize corruption, erode institutions, and flood the public with chaos until lawlessness feels routine. He connects today’s political reality to America’s long civil rights struggle, showing how progress has always required organized courage, moral clarity, and sustained pressure from ordinary people.
Drawing on lessons from democratic backsliding abroad and from U.S. history at home, Ahmed explores how pro-democracy organizing is necessary when institutions fail, how movements build popular power, and why democratic renewal is never automatic. This topic can be delivered as a keynote, a slide show lecture, a current-events briefing, or a moderated conversation tailored to your audience, from civic organizations to schools to corporate leadership teams.
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Ahmed’s content niche is helping to translate chaotic political moments into clear, grounded analysis audiences can actually use. Drawing from his decade in political reporting, years of on-air commentary, and deep coverage of democratic backsliding, Ahmed breaks down what’s happening, why it’s happening, and what signals matter most as the news cycle accelerates.
Ahmed helps audiences cut through spin, distraction, and false “both sides” framing by focusing on incentives, institutions, and narrative power. The goal is not hot takes. It’s clarity you can carry forward: what to watch next, what’s being normalized, and how to stay oriented when chaos is the strategy.
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Ahmed has worked in both independent and mainstream media, giving him a bird’s eye view of how algorithmic incentives can distort what gets covered, how it gets framed, and what gets normalized. He breaks down why “both-sides” framing fails in a moment of asymmetric extremism, how sane-washing becomes a form of permission, and why the press cannot treat authoritarian politics like normal politics.
Ahmed also offers a forward-looking view of where trust is being rebuilt: independent journalists and new models of audience-supported reporting. These talks help audiences understand how to consume news responsibly, support credible information, and avoid being emotionally manipulated by an always-on outrage economy.
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Ahmed has spent years analyzing how culture shapes politics more powerfully than policy papers ever will. He explores how narratives about race, gender, belonging, masculinity, and “who counts” get weaponized, and why culture wars are so effective at driving division and radicalization.
Ahmed helps audiences understand what is really happening beneath the outrage cycles: how attention is captured, how grievance is manufactured, and how identity is turned into a political weapon. He also speaks to how we rebuild social trust and resilience without surrendering moral clarity or falling into cynicism.
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Ahmed has covered every election since 2016, analyzing how they’re shaped by turnout, persuasion, media ecosystems, and the stories voters tell themselves about the country. He helps audiences look past the horse race to understand coalition shifts, messaging failures, and the role disinformation plays in shaping political reality.
Ahmed also connects elections to the bigger question of democratic resilience: how power is won, defended, and challenged when norms are breaking, and institutions are under strain. He equips audiences with a sharper, calmer way to interpret electoral moments and to understand what effective pro-democracy strategy requires before and after the ballots are counted.
“It was great having Ahmed as the guest speaker for this year’s MLK Tribute and Ceremony. Ahmed knocked his powerful speech out of the park, and we heard nothing but good things from people regarding the event. Ahmed helped us honor and celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and extend his message of love, peace, and unity.” -
— PBS Wisconsin Staff