NLP responds to Aspen Institute’s information disorder report

Nonpartisan education nonprofit calls for mandatory news literacy instruction across the U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 15, 2021 — In response to the final report issued today by the Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder, Alan C. Miller, founder and CEO of the News Literacy Project, released the following statement:

“The Commission on Information Disorder report sheds a bright light on why we must act immediately to combat the urgent threat that misinformation poses to our health, our environment and our democracy. NLP is at the forefront of confronting this challenge by providing free, effective and nonpartisan resources and programs to help students and the public learn how to tell fact from fiction. But additional action is needed.

“That’s why we’re calling on states across the country to adopt learning standards that require news literacy instruction in our schools. These efforts should include providing financial resources and curriculum guidance for educators to help students attain the skills to differentiate between various kinds of information, learn the standards that define quality journalism, develop fact-checking abilities to detect and debunk misinformation and gain an appreciation for the critical role that the First Amendment and a free press play in a democracy.

“As the Aspen report underscores, failure to act now could be catastrophic for our country.’’

Read the full report here.

About the News Literacy Project

The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan national education nonprofit, provides programs and resources for educators and the public to teach, learn and share the abilities needed to be smart, active consumers of news and information and equal and engaged participants in a democracy.