FIGHTING MIS/ DISINFORMATION

Through Cutting-edge Media Literacy

Last spring, Ed Roberts ’61 decided it was time to address the problem of mis/ disinformation in social media. As an alumnus of both Christ School and the University of South Carolina (Ed graduated from USC in 1964 with a degree in International Studies), he proposed a partnership between these institutions to understand and combat this insidious issue.

by Olga P. Mahoney P’20

The collaboration Roberts envisioned is well underway. Christ School hosted a mis/ disinformation consultation meeting in June where media literacy, tracking mis/ disinformation, and advocating for effective policy on social media platforms took center stage. USC visitors Dr. Tom Reichert, Dean of College of Information and Communications, Randy Covington, Director of Special Projects in the College of Information and Communications, and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Joel H. Samuels, attended the meeting.

With momentum from that summer meeting, USC hosted a group of Christ School students in October. Along with faculty members Emily Pulsifer P’15, P’17 and Olga Mahoney P’20, the students toured the amazing Social Media Insights Lab where Randy Covington and his colleagues demonstrated how the latest to monitor and act on false content. Faculty are also beneficiaries of this project. Mrs. Mahoney attended “Science Rising Train the Trainer” hosted by the Union of Concerned Scientists and shared information on literacy strategies at a faculty workshop in January. In this session, teachers learned new tools for cutting-edge media literacy instruction. Strategies such as lateral reading, algorithm analysis, effective Boolean searches, and critical evaluation of media reports of scientific issues will help students develop the skills needed to distinguish between evidence-based information, pseudoscience, misinformation, disinformation, and entertaining material. For faculty, passing along these critical tools will offer another opportunity to fulfill the school’s mission to “produce educated men of good character prepared for both scholastic achievement in college and productive citizenship in adult society.”

Christ School is blessed by the vision, energy, and direction of Ed Roberts and his brilliant wife, Pat, who shares his passion for this project. We are incredibly fortunate to have these dedicated philanthropists spearhead an initiative designed to address an urgent problem affecting so many areas of our civic responsibilities. n technology is employed to spot and track the flow of information on social media. This was a remarkable opportunity to learn in real-time how information spreads, how it can be tracked, and, most importantly, how to analyze it. This initiative is finding its way into Christ School classrooms as well. In her Honors Applied Ethics course, Mrs. Mahoney’s students watched “After-Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News,” a 2020 documentary that explores the ongoing threat of “fake news” in the US. The film prompted students to consider the real-life consequences that disinformation, conspiracy theories, and deceptive news stories have on average citizens. Students then held a debate: “Resolved: That Social Media Platforms Must Monitor Content.” The affirmative side won by demonstrating that internet giants such as Meta have exacerbated the problem by refusing

“Offering a meal to someone experiencing poverty has shown me that even small gestures can make a big difference to people in need,” Henry said. “I designed the white hat ‘Sandwich Squad,’ as an incentive for our volunteers and it has become a symbol of hard work and service of our group.” The Squad has met several times to learn about homelessness. They then set about making sandwiches and writing encouraging notes which they handed out, in person, in downtown Asheville.

Grant Writing Workshop Leads To New Service Learning Initiative

In February 2022, Olga Mahoney P’20, Director of Service Learning, gathered student leaders for a grant writing workshop to help them pursue future philanthropic projects.

In April, some exciting news arrived for one of the participants, Henry Nicholls ’23: “Congratulations! You have been selected to receive a 2022 $250 Standard-Size Hershey Heartwarming Young Hero Grant to engage youth as volunteers in the Global Youth Service Day ‘Sandwiches for Hope: Providing Sandwiches to the Homeless Population of Asheville’ project.”

Henry’s hard work and effort spent rewriting his application to get the budget, goals and outcomes just right had paid off. And so, with a charter and funding in hand, Henry created the “Sandwich Squad” – a group of students and faculty dedicated to helping the homeless in Asheville by making and distributing sandwiches.

By learning about food insecurity and homelessness, participants were able to understand and empathize with the grateful people they served. And while their efforts won’t solve the problem, Henry noted, “we could really tell that we were making a difference.”

The time spent making and distributing the sandwiches allowed the boys to connect with homelessness on a deeper level and forged relationships with community partners that will allow the continued growth of the project. n

’23, Vovi Lagutin ’23, Jake Liss ’24, Jonathan Chen ’23, Campbell Vernon ’23, Mrs. Mahoney, Matthew Sorrells ’23, Ben Fedder

Head of US Episcopal Church