(Gray News) – Western Mass News and our parent company, Gray Television, is launching a new program ahead of the November midterm election to help voters differentiate between fact and fiction.
In partnership with the nonprofit Poynter Institute’s MediaWise program, Find Facts Fast is a free text message course designed to empower people with skills to better participate in the democratic process and spot misinformation online and in their social media feeds.
“Elections make fertile grounds for bad actors, domestic and abroad, to plant seeds of disinformation, due in part to polarization, heightened emotions and a 24/7 news cycle on social feeds,” said MediaWise director Alex Mahadevan. “Find Facts Fast helps anyone … wade through the flood of misinformation we’ll see in the coming months and beyond.”
The instructors include a team of award-winning journalists, teaching learners how to spot misinformation, leverage digital tools to verify online content, identify videos and images that were manipulated, diversify their news diets to avoid echo chambers and practice click restraint.
There are several ways to enroll in the course.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.