Fake News: Is Disinformation Destroying Democracy?

Gone are the days when a handful of networks and newspapers controlled the news that came into our homes. We no longer look to—let alone trust—an Edward Murrow or Walter Cronkite to inform us about what’s going on in the world. Today, traditional media find themselves critiqued both from the political left, for example by Noam Chomsky’s Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, and right—Fake News!  

Perhaps as a result, distrust of the media is at an all-time high. A recent Gallup poll found that only 9% in U.S. residents trust mass media "a great deal" and 31% "a fair amount"; 27% have "not very much" trust and 33% "none at all”—the latter the highest number ever recorded, five percent more than in 2019. 

Most of us want to be informed. But it can be hard to know what to believe in today’s media environment.  

Join us at the CCE Public Square as we discuss the disinformation age with experts and practitioners in the field. WSU faculty, students, and community partners will provide insight into what is happening—and what you can do—to understand the current information environment and how to cultivate the digital literacy skills we need to participate in and contribute to a healthy, functioning democratic society.  

Participation in this event will help make sure Benjamin Franklin’s belief that “when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter” isn’t Fake News! 

This discussion will take place Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. and will be streamed live via Zoom. The Zoom link will be sent out to registrants on the day of the event. 

All Public Square discussions are free and open to WSU students and the public.   

Contact: dave jones at dave.jones@wsu.edu.