Post-Truth: Fake News and a New Era of Information Literacy

Can you spot fake news? Do you know how to help others differentiate between truth and fiction? Join us to learn how you can be a better ambassador for information literacy.

A recent Stanford Graduate School of Education study found that most students, middle school through college, struggled to distinguish between credible and unreliable news articles. Many adults have the same challenge.

Duration
45 minutes

Talk of fake news and the need for critical thinking skills have been in heavy rotation in the media in recent months, with new calls for the public to acquire appropriate research and evaluation skills and become more information savvy. However, none of this is new for librarians and information professionals, particularly for those who teach information literacy classes! With this renewed interest, librarians have brand new opportunities to impart these skills to patrons.

In this webinar, participants will:

  • Learn more about the rise of fake news, particularly those information behaviors that perpetuate its spread
  • Learn ways to identify fake news
  • Explore methods to help library patrons identify fake news

Download the list of resources shared in the webinar.

Download the iSchool fake news handout shared in the webinar.

Presenters
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Nicole Cooke Headshot

Nicole A. Cooke is the MS/LIS program director of the iSchool at Illinois and an assistant professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds an M.Ed in adult education from Pennsylvania State University and an MLS and Ph.D. in communication, information and library studies from Rutgers University. Her research and teaching interests include human information behavior (particularly in an online context), critical cultural information studies, and diversity and social justice in librarianship (with an emphasis on infusing them into LIS education and pedagogy). Cooke was named a "Mover & Shaker" by Library Journal in 2007 and was the 2016 recipient of ALA's Equality Award and the Achievement in Library Diversity Research Award presented by ALA’s Office for Diversity, Literacy & Outreach. Her latest work is "Information Services to Diverse Populations" (Libraries Unlimited, 2016). Learn more  at www.nicolecooke.info or follow her on Twitter @librarynicole.