Fact or Fiction in the Digital Age
On May 3, World Press Freedom Day, a panel of media experts participated in an interactive webchat to discuss the importance of media literacy in today’s fragmented news and information landscape. The panelists highlighted ways that educators and students can develop their skills in understanding the credibility of media sources and recognizing and challenging disinformation.
The panelists illustrated examples and discussed best practices, answered viewer questions and provided links to resources. Students, educators, and journalists were also able to share their own experiences with media literacy in the comments section.
The program streamed live to www.Facebook.com/StateDRL.
Panelists:
Jennifer Thomas - assistant professor of broadcast journalism at Howard University. She is a veteran broadcast journalist whose career spans more than 25 years in network and local news. Most recently, she was an executive producer for CNN Headline News.
Geysha Gonzalez - associate director for the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council. Her areas of expertise include disinformation campaigns, digital disinformation, and media literacy. She previously worked at Freedom House.
Anthony Shop - co-founder and chief strategy officer of Social Driver, an award-winning digital agency. Shop previously worked as a journalist and was the first new media professional elected to the National Press Club's Board of Governors.
Moderator: Jessi McCarthy - outreach educator at the Newseum in Washington, DC.