NLP News

By Greg McCaffery and Alan C. Miller Our world has been shaken and transformed since we shared our first annual report with you. In fact, it often feels like last fall was a decade ago. Read the report here. We’re proud to say that NLP has responded to the myriad challenges wrought by COVID-19 with…

Misinformation and conspiracy theories thrive when curiosity and controversy are widespread and conclusive information is scarce or unavailable. The deeply polarized 2020 presidential election not only produced these conditions, it sustained them as ballots in a number of swing states with narrow vote margins were adjudicated and carefully counted. To be sure, viral rumors swirled…

NLP CEO and founder Alan C. Miller takes a moment to celebrate some things that went indisputably right in our recent rite of democracy during this election period.

Mike Webb, NLP’s senior vice president of communications, discusses the role of disinformation in explaining Blacks’ support of Trump presidency in a Nov. 11 Los Angeles Times article. “As we discussed on our podcast interview with UNC’s Deen Freelon, during the 2016 campaign, agents from Russia’s Internet Research Agency attempted to disguise themselves as Black…

NewsLitCamp helps teachers & librarians develop expertise in news literacy, demystifying what distinguishes quality journalism from misinfo. About this Event Join the News Literacy Project (NLP), the San José Public Library and NBC Bay Area on Dec. 2 and 3 for a virtual, teacher-centered NewsLitCamp featuring breakout sessions with local journalists. This program is part of a…

Should schools require news literacy? NLP’s Peter Adams joined Jaclyn Siegel, New York State chapter leader for Media Literacy Now, and Mike Johansson, principal lecturer in the School of Communication at the Rochester Institute of Technology, to discuss that question in a pubic radio segment Should news and media literacy be required courses in schools?…

“We cannot afford to delay in providing young people with the ability and confidence to navigate our complex information landscape,” says California educator and NLP board member in the Nov. 7 op-ed for EdSurge, The U.S. Election Underscores the Need for Teaching News Literacy in Our Schools. “News literacy … is a fundamental life skill,…

NLP’s John Silva was interviewed by KGTV in San Diego  on Nov. 5 for the segment Election rumors permeating social networks underscores need for media literacy. “We don’t like this idea of being uncomfortable that there’s some big thing that we’re not aware of. In the discomfort and the anxiety of not knowing, we might…

“The voters have spoken, and now it’s up to our state election officials to fairly count all the votes. As key states methodically complete the process of tallying their ballots, it’s vital that we do not let misinformation fill the void while we await the final count. “We urge the news media, state officials and…

For a better understanding of how misinformation and disinformation have impacted this election, please join us for a live episode of our podcast Is that a fact? on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 5:30 p.m. ET. Host Darragh Worland will moderate a lively conversation featuring Enrique Acevedo of 60 in 6 (former anchor at Univision) and an NLP board…

On Nov. 2, the day before the historic 2020 election, NLP’s Peter Adams is quoted in the MIT Technology Review piece How to talk to kids and teens about misinformation and in the New York Times piece Stopping Online Vitriol at the Roots.  

WLRN TV in Miami devoted a Nov. 1 segment to covering the NewsLitCamp held for Miam-Dade area educators the previous week.  In ‘It’s A Necessity’: Miami-Dade Teachers Learn How To Spot Misinformation Online, participating educator Silvia Villacis says she looks forward to passing her new skills on to her students. She teaches civics at West…