Most of us feel that the country is divided – across political lines and over major social issues. Syracuse University’s Vice President of Civic Engagement and Education is trying to do something about it. Gretchen Ritter’s "Life Together: Seeking the Common Good in a Diverse Democracy" initiative seeks to raise awareness about some of the causes of division. She’d also like to see people become more discerning about the information they see and hear.
“We assume that we know something because we trust the person who’s sharing it. If we can get people to move away from that a little bit, but look at other criteria for truth, that would be a great thing for this audience to take away,” Ritter said.
The next Life Together event is “Decoding Deception” , a workshop to help people discern the source of information – and when it’s meant to deceive. Newhouse Associate Public Relations Professor Regina Luttrell says the onus is on us to be critical about what’s on, especially new media.
“The major social media platforms are rolling back their mis- and dis- information detection and allowing a lot of things to come through the feed again. And if you believe, whether it’s a blog or a major news outlet, you have to take that responsibility,” said Lutrell.
Decoding Deception: Advancing Critical Thinking to Strengthen Democracy
Tuesday, March 26th 6:00 pm in SU's Grant Auditorium
Luttrell and Newhouse Research Professor Jason Davis will lead the session on mis- and dis-information … and how to decode it. It takes place Tuesday night at 6:00 in S-U’s Grant Auditorium … and is open to the public.