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Students on lockdown create a global guide to coronavirus conspiracy theories, fake cures, and other whopping lies

Matt Field

May 26, 2020 |

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton University's Empirical Studies of Conflict Project launched a tracking effort to document COVID-19 disinformation worldwide. Created by a network of students tapping into fact-checking sites and other social media and internet sources, the data set taking shape (and, with more than 800 entries in its first three months, already accessible online) serves as a resource for researchers, historians, journalists, and the public in the battle against rumors, conspiracy theories, fake cures, propaganda, and other disinformation surrounding the pandemic.

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To combat COVID-19 information gaps, Latino leaders and Spanish media ‘work double'

Lauren Lindstrom

April 04, 2020 |

The Charlotte Observer |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina

In North Carolina's Mecklenburg County, Spanish is more commonly spoken than English, yet information about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic wasn't being translated from English before being distributed. To address this "information gap," community leaders and media organizations stepped in and launched a hotline and public safety campaigns to help residents access information in a more timely fashion.

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With An Election On The Horizon, Older Adults Get Help Spotting Fake News

Sam Gringlas

March 27, 2020 |

NPR |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Maryland

Senior centers in Maryland are offering media literacy courses to discuss fact-checking and how to spot fake news stories online. A recent study by researchers at Princeton and NYU found that Facebook users over 65 are seven times more likely to post articles from fake news websites as are adults under 29, so digital literacy classes provide tools to help identify fake news sites. Many participants report feeling empowered by the class because they did not grow up online. Despite the interest, these courses are more difficult to integrate widely in senior centers than they would be in a school setting.

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'Visible women': Feminist mappers bridge data gap in urban design

Anastasia Moloney

March 07, 2020 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Mexico, Mexico City

The underrepresentation of women in technology and computer science has led to the creation of Geochicas, a group of women who recruit and train female, open source mappers across the world. Open source mapping is a male-dominated pursuit but one that informs urban design and public policy. When mapping a city, women tend to add services that are overlooked by men, such as childcare services, hospitals, and women's health clinics. Diversifying the volunteers who do this work to include more women leads to mapping that is more inclusive and minimizes crowdsourced-data bias against women.

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‘I have a duty to do this': Meet the Redditors fighting 2020's fake news war

Steven Melendez

March 02, 2020 |

FastCompany |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The freewheeling discussion platform Reddit has spawned many conspiracy theories, but it also plays host to anti-disinformation activists. By striking back at those who spread propaganda and potentially harmful disinformation, forums such as r/Disinfo, rDisinformationWatch, and r/trollfare share news and research debunking conspiracy theories and unmasking disinformation campaigns. The audience for false information remains much larger, and the truth squad has not slain the propaganda dragon singlehandedly. But the anonymous, volunteer moderators see value in educating people searching for trustworthy news.

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These Students Are Learning About Fake News and How to Spot It

Alina Tugend

February 20, 2020 |

The New York Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Some schools are formally adding media literacy education to their curricula. Lessons train students to spot fake news and navigate the non-stop media cycle.

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Meet the doctors fighting anti-vax attackers online

Isobel Cockerell

February 06, 2020 |

Coda Story |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Shots Heard Round the World, is a physician-founded team of over 500 doctors, lawyers, nurses, and vaccine advocates who live around the world. When doctors, scientists, or others are attacked on social media for advocating the importance and safety of vaccines, the group steps in. Members take shifts around the clock and use a two-pronged approach. They hide, block, and report anti-vaccine bullies who post on advocates’ pages while also flooding the pages with supportive comments, mimicking the blitzing technique often used by anti-vaxxers.

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How Finland starts its fight against fake news in primary schools

Jon Henley

January 29, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Finland, Helinski

Building successful resistance to fake information begins with primary education. Finland’s national school curriculum encourages information and media literacy along with critical thinking. The pilot program consists of training teachers, journalists, civil servants, and others in information literacy. The curriculum emphasizes three categories of fake news: misinformation (mistakes), disinformation (lies), and malformation (conspiracies).

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This handy browser plug-in combats fake news with ratings of thousands of news websites

Larry Platt

December 27, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Allowing news consumers to more carefully vet media outlets can help stem the proliferation of fake news. NewsGuard, a web browser plug-in gives users a “nutrition label” for news websites by ranking them on a scale of trustworthiness. The service employs trained journalists and is working to make its plug-in available in libraries, as well.

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The way we talk about climate change matters

Angela K. Evans

September 26, 2019 |

Boulder Weekly |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Boulder, Colorado

The Media and Climate Change Observatory at the University of Colorado - Boulder has been tracking media coverage of climate change in an effort to improve and provide analysis of it. As awareness of the climate crisis grows around the world, the need to shift away from alarmist information and toward actionable, applicable information also increases. While scientific reports are necessary, delivering information through mediums like comedy or performance art has proven to reach a wider audience.

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