How to Spot Misinformation Online

Original price was: $50.00.Current price is: $0.00.

In stock

How to Spot Misinformation Online

In this online course from MediaWise for Seniors, you will learn simple digital literacy skills to outsmart algorithms, detect falsehoods and make decisions based on factual information.

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Overview

  • Enroll in this short online course to learn how to spot misinformation online
  • Watch special guests like Joan Lunden Christiane Amanpour explain digital media literacy concepts
  • Complete activities, readings and quizzes to practice your new skills, all on your own time
  • Feel more confident finding facts on Facebook and other social media platforms
  • Help slow the spread of misinformation online

Original price was: $50.00.Current price is: $0.00.

In stock

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Define different types of misinformation, from memes to deepfakes
  • Identify and consume online news responsibly
  • Fact-check social media posts using the tools and techniques professional fact-checkers use
  • Use strategies to talk to friends or family who share misinformation
Sale!

Original price was: $50.00.Current price is: $0.00.

In stock

Overview

  • Enroll in this short online course to learn how to spot misinformation online
  • Watch special guests like Joan Lunden Christiane Amanpour explain digital media literacy concepts
  • Complete activities, readings and quizzes to practice your new skills, all on your own time
  • Feel more confident finding facts on Facebook and other social media platforms
  • Help slow the spread of misinformation online

Training five or more people?
Check out our custom training.

Misinformation is everywhere. But you can outsmart it.

This free short course from MediaWise for Seniors will teach you how to tell what’s true and false on the internet. By looking at examples of political, health, travel and climate misinformation, you will learn techniques for identifying false information and how to seek out trustworthy sources.

Christiane Amanpour, Joan Lunden, Lester Holt, Hari Sreenivasan and Dave Jorgenson — MediaWise Ambassadors — will also pop in to share their advice as experienced journalists to help you navigate information on platforms like Google, Facebook and more.

We will not be telling you how to feel about topics or issues. Instead, we will teach you how to identify misleading, false or dangerous information on the internet. Our goal is to help you make decisions based on reliable, credible information.

If you’re aware of what’s out there and use the free fact-checking tools at your fingertips, you can navigate a sea of digital misinformation with confidence.

All four lessons in the course are available to start as soon as you enroll:

  1. Introduction to Fact-Checking: Why is misinformation so dangerous? Who is spreading misinformation and how do they do it? How can I train my brain to spot misinformation?
  2. Types of Misinformation: Understanding misinformation in all forms, identifying red flags, and understanding how social media algorithms work
  3. Tools to Tackle Misinformation: Lateral reading, search engines, reading upstream and reverse image search
  4. Put It All Together: Talking to family about misinformation and a misinformation quiz

The full course should take between one to two hours to complete, but we encourage you to take it at your own pace and on your own time. Your progress will be saved, so you can pick up where you left off.

Who should enroll

The self-directed course is meant for people 50 years and older who regularly consume news online, often via social platforms like Facebook. The course does not require special internet skills or abilities and is meant for anyone hoping to better detect for themselves what’s true and what’s false online.

Cost

The value of this interactive, one-hour course is $50. This course was made available free thanks to support from Facebook.

FAQ

What is MediaWise for Seniors?

MediaWise is a nonprofit, nonpartisan digital media literacy initiative led by The Poynter Institute. Its mission is to teach Americans of all ages how to sort fact from fiction online. MediaWise content has been viewed 44 million times by more than 9 million people since the project launched in 2018.

MediaWise for Seniors was announced in 2020 to bring MediaWise tips to the 50+ population. MediaWise for Seniors has a program funded by AARP to provide resources to their membership and a program funded by Facebook bringing virtual training and a social media awareness campaign to the senior population. The foundation of MediaWise was created with support from Google.org as part of Google News Initiative. Learn more at poynter.org/mediawise.

Do funders have control over the course?

No. We prize our reputation for teaching excellence, developed over more than four decades. To preserve that reputation, we retain independence and control over our teaching whether it is funded by tuition or a donor, such as a foundation or corporation. Read more about our ethics policy here.

Who can I contact for more information?

We’d love to hear from you. Email us at info@poynter.org.

Instructors

Faculty

  • Alex Mahadevan
    Director, MediaWise
    Alex Mahadevan is director of MediaWise, Poynter’s digital media literacy project that teaches people of all ages how to spot misinformation online. As director, Alex...
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Special Guests

  • Christiane Amanpour
    Chief International Anchor, CNN
    Christiane Amanpour is CNN’s chief international anchor of the network’s award-winning, flagship global affairs program “Amanpour,” which also airs on PBS in the United States....
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  • Joan Lunden
    Journalist, Best-selling Author and TV Host
    An award-winning journalist, bestselling author, motivational speaker, and women's health & wellness advocate, Joan Lunden has been a trusted voice in American homes for more...
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  • Lester Holt
    Anchor, "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt"; Anchor, "Dateline NBC"
    Lester Holt is an award-winning journalist and anchor of "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt," the network's flagship broadcast currently celebrating its 70th anniversary. Holt...
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  • Hari Sreenivasan
    Anchor of PBS NewsHour Weekend and Amanpour and Company contributor
    Hari Sreenivasan is the anchor of PBS NewsHour Weekend, an Amanpour and Company contributor, a senior correspondent for PBS NewsHour and host of the national public television series SciTech Now. Previously, the...
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  • Dave Jorgenson
    TikTok Creator, The Washington Post
    David Jorgenson is a video producer, editor and writer for "The Department of Satire" and various scripted series for The Washington Post. He also interviews...
    Read More

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