Misinformation, Disinformation, and “fake News”

Catalog description

What sources can you trust and how do you know? The rapid growth of the internet and social media has fundamentally changed the way most people seek out and receive information. With these changes come new challenges for finding and identifying reliable sources. By conducting close, critical readings of media sources, this workshop examines how knowledge is constructed and how truth can be manipulated. Alternative facts, fake news, manipulated media, disinformation, propaganda - these concepts are not new. By examining “information ecosystems” and conducting detailed case studies of “fake news,” students gain the tools and skills necessary to critically analyze and evaluate sources. Students are introduced to a wide range of media literacy tools and learn to trace claims to their original source, seek out evidence, and counter misleading or false narratives. Applying these strategies to real world cases, students will get hands-on practice identifying and evaluating online sources.