"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire
In 2017, Schiffrin argued that disinformation on the internet was undermining democracy. More recently, Michaelis et al. (2022) researched corporations that spread disinformation to their advantage. Bontridder and Poullet (2021) asserted that artificial intelligence (AI) increases the quantity and effectiveness of disinformation on the web at large. With this trifecta at work and its ramifications growing exponentially, how can we as educators help our students to recognize and reject misinformation they encounter on the internet?
This workshop will lay out the groundwork for educators to better equip themselves in combating digital misinformation in and outside of the classroom by establishing and defending three claims: (1) Epistemology is a central issue in disinformation; (2) Disinformation is almost always an ethical violation; and (3) Educators can take practical steps to help their students identify, avoid, and combat internet disinformation. With these in mind, participants will be led through the five strategies for resisting disinformation as proposed by The Union of Concerned Scientists. The workshop will culminate in a discussion about the application of these strategies and sharing of ideas for other applicable cases, first using one example of web misinformation from the speaker, then using examples volunteered by participants.
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