Florida State to host weeklong event to examine truth and misinformation in media

Florida State University’s Critical Thinking Initiative will host a weeklong event to encourage students and faculty to think critically about the media they consume.

The Critical Thinking Symposium: Truth and Misinformation in Media will take place Monday, April 1, through Thursday, April 4, and will include panels, workshops and games. Events throughout the week will provide the FSU community with important information and skills to help navigate today’s news media environment.

The event will conclude with a keynote address by Washington Post columnist Glenn Kessler. Kessler is a diplomatic correspondent and writes the Post’s “Fact Checker” column, where he examines the statements of political figures to discover their truth. The keynote address will take place at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre in Montgomery Hall.

All events are free and open to the public.

Monday, April 1  

Presidents, Reporters, and Commentators: Nourishing Media’s Political Narratives, 1:30 p.m., Strozier Bradley Reading Room
Allan Louden, professor of communication at Wake Forest University, will deliver a lecture as part of the FSU Road Scholars Series.  Louden, who was named a Resident Scholar at the Wake Washington Program in 2018, is an expert on argumentation theory, political communication and debate. He is a frequent media commentator during election cycles.

Fake News Jeopardy, 1-5 p.m., Strozier Library
Stop by and win prizes by identifying credible sources in this competitive quiz event. 

Tuesday, April 2  

Fake News Jeopardy, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., CARE Lab/Thagard Building
Stop by and win prizes by identifying credible sources in this competitive quiz event. 

Deepfakes: A Brief Introduction to Faked Videos, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Strozier Scholar’s Commons Instruction Room
This presentation by Dave Rodriguez, diversity resident librarian, will explore how “deepfakes” (or AI-generated synthetic videos) entered the mainstream media and how librarians, archivists and citizens are coping with a world where audio-visual records of reality can be altered, falsified and used for nefarious ends.

Roundtable Discussion: Teaching in a Post-Truth Culture, 2:30-4 p.m., Westcott 201
As it becomes increasingly difficult for students — and citizens — to decide what to believe, our responsibilities as college faculty have never been more pressing: If we don’t teach our students to think critically, who will? In this roundtable discussion, we will explore and discuss our current “post-truth” culture, our beliefs about the role of a university in such a time and what this role means for our teaching, including how we might prepare our students to be savvy citizens and critical consumers of information. All faculty, postdocs and teaching assistants are invited for a timely discussion and light refreshments. The discussion will be facilitated by Leslie Richardson and Jen Bartman from the Center for the Advancement of Teaching.  

Escape the Fyre Festival, 3-7 p.m., Strozier Library
Team up and use your knowledge of pop culture to fact-check the Fyre Festival. Sign up your team of up to six people for a 30-minute game time slot by emailing Nikki Morse at nmorse@fsu.edu.

Wednesday, April 3  

Workshop: Detecting Deceptive Data and Statistics in the News, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Strozier Scholar’s Commons Instruction Room
Examine real news stories and learn to identify bad statistics, manipulated numbers, inappropriate comparisons and distorted graphs in the media.

Where Do You Get Your News?, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Market Wednesday, Legacy Walk
Interactive questions hosted by the Oglesby Union Board.

Fake News Jeopardy, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Market Wednesday, Legacy Walk
Stop by and win prizes by identifying credible sources in this competitive quiz event!

Escape the Fyre Festival, 11 a.m.- 3 p.m., CARE/Thagard Building, Room 211
Team up and use your knowledge of pop culture to fact-check the Fyre Festival. Sign up your team of up to six people for a 30-minute game time slot by emailing Nikki Morse at nmorse@fsu.edu.

Faculty Panel: Critical Thinking Across Contexts, 2-3 p.m., Strozier Library Bradley Reading Room
Three faculty will discuss how they support critical thinking in the unique contexts of their disciplines and beyond. Arienne Ferchaud, School of Communication, Richard Morris, School of Communication Science and Disorders, and Marlo Ransdell, Department of Interior Architecture and Design, will each discuss their teaching followed by a Q&A with the audience. The panel will be moderated by Jonathan Daso, student success librarian. 

TA Panel: Critical Thinking in Lower Division Classes, 3:30-5 p.m.,
Strozier Library Bradley Reading Room
A panel of experienced TAs from various disciplines, who are Program for Instructional Excellence (PIE) Associates, will discuss how they encourage and embed critical thinking in their courses. 

Thursday, April 4  

Dig Deeper: Fact Checking, Critical Thinking and Political Rhetoric, 2 p.m., Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theater in Montgomery Hall
Glenn Kessler, a veteran diplomatic correspondent, writes “The Fact Checker” column for the Washington Post. On a daily basis, he probes and examines the statements of political figures and diplomats, trying to discern the truth behind the rhetoric. If the statement falls short, Kessler explains why and awards as many as four “Pinocchios” to the offending party. Doors open at 1:30 p.m.

The symposium is sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the Critical Thinking Initiative, FSU Libraries and the Division of Student Affairs.