Countering Disinformation in Digital Spaces

Facebook's recent announcement that its content moderation system will be all but eliminated should surprise no one. Social media companies have a history of decision-making that serves their bottom line regardless of the societal cost. Their role in facilitating episodes of violence in Myanmar and Sri Lanka through the spread of disinformation is well documented as is their role in helping disinformation spread before the 2016 election in the US. This workshop will broadly cover disinformation and its spread in online spaces.

Participants will learn

• the major categories of disinformation
• important psychological underpinnings that motivate people to become susceptible to disinformation
• some relevant research conclusions by data and social scientists who study disinformation and its spread
• the processes fact-finders and researchers use to debunk disinformation so you can do it also

This workshop will be interactive so please bring something to write with as well as a fully charged phone or tablet.

Materials will be made digitally available after the session for those who would like to share their learning with others or do further independent study on their own.

WORKSHOP PRESENTER: Lisa Hoelscher has an MA in Educational Administration from the University of Illinois and a BA in History and a BS in secondary education from the University of Minnesota. She was a Google Certified Educator and taught Social Studies at a diverse high school in suburban Cook County. She has been a presenter at multiple educational technology conferences, including at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

Host or Publisher Congregations Networking for Social Justice (CNSJ)