'To promote an informed society': UW to launch new center studying fake news this fall

Never sure if what you're reading is real? Following a course last year incisively titled "Calling Bull**t," which taught students how to spot misleading information in the press, the University of Washington is now launching a center entirely dedicated to studying fake news.

Thanks to a $5 million investment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Center for an Informed Public will launch this fall. Its goal? To "resist strategic misinformation, promote an informed society, and strengthen democratic discourse," according to UW.

Recently, deliberate misinformation spread via media has been more prevalent than ever. An analysis by BuzzFeed News showed that the top 20 fake news stories about the 2016 U.S. presidential election generated more engagement on Facebook than the top 20 election stories from 19 major media outlets combined.

Despite this political comparison, the center will be non-partisan. Professor Jevin West, who co-founded the "Calling Bull**t course, will be the center's first director.

https://www.seattlepi.com/local/seattlenews/article/UW-center-studying-fake-news-University-Washington-14276869.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailynewsletterspi&utm_term=spi