The web creates an ideal environment for news and other content to spread like wildfire. Propaganda has existed as long as language itself; and yet, “fake news” seems somehow different. Is it? The digital world has changed how we give and receive information. But how do we track the origin and assess the legitimacy of the information that we receive? To effectively read and evaluate sources, we can develop a better awareness of how they reach us and how we read them. In this session, participants will examine fake news and ways to evaluate the kinds of sites, technologies, and processes that play a role in circulating falsehoods online.

Jason Luther, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Writing Arts at Rowan University. He received his PhD in Composition and Cultural Rhetoric from Syracuse University. Jason is specifically interested in writers and writing histories that happen outside of the classroom, specifically those amateur writers who have always made use of the tools and resources at hand to produce and circulate their own writing.