‘Fake news’ and media literacy at #ijf17
Perugia, Italy | 5–9 April 2017
As Jeff Jarvis, CUNY Graduate School of Journalism professor, has recently written, “one of the treatments prescribed for the apparent epidemic of fake news, falsity, fraud, and foolishness sweeping the globe is news literacy.”
Facebook and the Arizona State University (ASU) Cronkite School organized a ‘News Literacy Working Group’. In an article explaining the project and its purposes, Dan Gillmor, who teaches digital media literacy at ASU, said: “We’ve assembled a superb, cross-disciplinary group of people from around the U.S. and several other countries. They understand the emergency, and they’re coming to Phoenix to go deep on this question: How can we make media/news literacy, which now seems so vital, a core part of everyday life?.” Gillmor published some thoughts after the first meeting.
Jarvis has gone further by suggesting we should redefine the term ‘news literacy’: “Journalism must learn to listen to the public conversation — communities’ conversations — to understand, empathize with, reflect, inform, and thus serve their needs and goals as prerequisite to gaining their trust. We in media are awful at that. This election is only the latest evidence of our failing. So our first goal is not to make the public more news-literate but to make journalism more public-literate.”
In other words, we need “community literacy” for newsrooms, and “news literacy” for communities if we want to tackle the problem. With this in mind, at #ijf17 we will discuss these topics in several panel discussions, conversations and workshops. Here is a taster selection.
Panel discussions
Media and information literacy
with Flora Graioni, Alina Ostling, Bayan Tal, Katya Vogt
The new digital environment is dramatically changing media’s position in society and role in shaping public opinion, and Media and Information Literacy (MIL) actors need to take a proactive approach to finding creative technical, cognitive, social, and civic solutions for increasing citizens’ access to reliable objective information. At the time when manipulation and dis-information is an increasing threat, helping citizens learn how to identify and access independent information sources, have a critical understanding of the media in all its forms, and how to interact with it, is a priority. During the panel discussion media researchers and professionals will present different examples of MIL actions and their relevance in specific countries and for specific needs. They will show effective ways to empower people through MIL and demonstrate that it is an important prerequisite for fostering equitable access to information and knowledge and for promoting free, independent, and pluralistic media and information systems.
Improving news literacy through collaboration
with Charlie Beckett, Dan Gillmor, Mary Hamilton, Aine Kerr
Facebook and Arizona State University (ASU) last month brought 50 educators, academics, journalists, technologists, platforms and third party organizations together for a working group on news literacy. This panel discussion, which will be led by ASU’s Dan Gillmor and Facebook’s Áine Kerr, will provide an update on the working group’s ideas and proposals. It will also explore ways for various parties in the media ecosystem, including audiences, information providers, tech companies and more to upgrade public knowledge and understanding, starting with the skills and tools to sort truth from falsehood.
‘Fake news’ and the misinformation ecosystem
with Aine Kerr, Mark Little, Alexios Mantzarlis, Craig Silverman, Claire Wardle
How can newsrooms work with social networks to help solve this problem? This panel will explore the current debates about the ‘fake news’ debate, examining the technical and human powered solutions that have been implemented over the past six months. What’s working? What’s not? How should different constituencies be thinking about this issues over the next 3 years including the social networks, governments, researchers, educators and audiences themselves?
Making sense of content in a post-truth world
with Phoebe Arnold, Ludovic Blecher, Sarah Hartley, Wilfried Runde
Post-truth, alternative facts and highly politicized speech have become hot topics for debate. What impact does this new reality have on journalistic credibility? This panel, featuring project leaders with funding from Google’s Digital News Initiative Full Fact, Deutsche Welle and Le Monde (tbc), will debate the good, the bad and the ugly.
Fact-checking in the age of Trump
with Phoebe Arnold, Lucas Graves, Alexios Mantzarlis, Giovanni Zagni
2016 was both the worst year and the best year for political fact-checking since it rebooted for the internet age. This panel will assess the reach, successes and failures of the instrument on both sides of the Atlantic. Panelists will look at the role of fact-checking in the US presidential election, the Brexit referendum and the Italian constitutional referendum. Speakers will discuss how fact-checking can adapt to counteract growing distrust in the media and partisan rejection of sources of fact.
A field guide to fake news
with Liliana Bounegru, Jonathan Gray, Craig Silverman, Claire Wardle
What is the state of fake news in your country? How can misinformation phenomena be investigated? This session will explore how digital methods, data, tools, techniques and research approaches can be utilised in the service of increasing public understanding of the politics, production, circulation and responses to fake news online. In particular it will look at how digital traces from the web and online platforms can be repurposed in the service of public interest research, investigations, data stories and data journalism projects. It will also present several data stories about fake news, as well as offering a behind-the-scenes look at how they were made. The session will include the official launch of a new Field Guide to Fake News from the Public Data Lab and the First Draft Coalition. In the wake of concerns about the role of “fake news” in relation to the US elections, the project aims to catalyse collaborations between leading digital researchers, data journalists and civil society groups in order to map the issue and phenomenon of fake news in US and European politics.
Collaborative fact-checking to monitor elections
with Phoebe Arnold, Scott Klein, Julien Pain, Jenni Sargent
Four panelists involved in monitoring the EU referendum, the US election, and the upcoming French and German elections will talk about ambitious projects which involve monitoring social media and collaborative fact-checking. Is collaboration just a buzzword or are we seeing new ways of reporting elections?
Fact-checking on TV: the importance of format
with Natalia Hernandez Rojo, Alexios Mantzarlis, Alberto Puoti, Patrick Worrall
What makes fact-checking work on TV? TV authors should work on creating a real format with precise rules. The audience must be aware that something different is happening. Otherwise, they can’t distinguish this new approach in the flow of information and emotions. They can’t distinguish a pundit from a fact-checker. They can’t distinguish between facts that build an opinion from facts that build a verdict.
In conversation
Stop worrying about fake news. What comes next will be much worse
with Jonathan Albright, Charlie Beckett
The session will take as its starting point the issues raised in Jonathan Albright’s Guardian article of 09 December 2016 entitled Stop worrying about fake news. What comes next will be much worse.
Fake news: it’s nothing new
with Claire Prentice, Alessandro Saccon
Fake news — it’s nothing new. What I learned about fact, fiction and the American press by researching and writing two historical non-fiction books. By Claire Prentice. Introduction by Alessandro Saccon.
Workshops
How can you build debunking beats into your newsroom?
with Alison Gow, Jenni Sargent
In this workshop, you will learn about some of the debunking projects taking place in newsrooms around the world. How big a team do you need? How do you manage the workflow? How do you ensure you are helping audiences navigate the news they are consuming rather than reinforcing and amplifying false information?
International Journalism Festival is the biggest annual media event in Europe. It’s an open invitation to interact with the best of world journalism. All sessions are free entry for all attendees, all venues are situated in the stunning setting of the historic town centre of Perugia. Come and join us!
