RESEARCH | Spotlight on iSchool scholarship
Fighting the tide Two years in, CIP is a leading voice against misinformation By Michael Grass In September, iSchool Associate Professor Jevin West’s twoyear term as the Center for an Informed Public’s faculty director came to a close when the center’s directorship transitioned to co-founder Kate Starbird, a UW Human Centered Design & Engineering associate professor and iSchool adjunct associate professor. In two years of research, public programming and educational outreach, the CIP saw significant achievements during West’s term as director. It secured major federal research funding, including the National Science Foundation’s Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace program awarding a $3 million collaborative grant to a CIP-led team, with support from Stanford University, to study multi-stakeholder models for rapid-response research of mis- and disinformation. That funding, along with a $1 million gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies and other philanthropic support, has helped lay a strong foundation as the CIP heads into its third year. “Jevin’s leadership has helped establish the CIP as an important research organization that’s helping to guide multidisciplinary efforts that will help us better understand the dynamics of misinformation and can empower all of us to become healthier — and savvier — participants in online information spaces,” Starbird said. Since the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation awarded $5 million to a UW team to establish the CIP in 2019, West, as founding director, has worked at an energetic pace with an iSchool-based team to jump-start the center’s early operations while pursuing important research collaborations and developing educational programming. “Sometimes I feel like I am running after something that is moving faster and further away from me. Spending my days and nights chasing misinformation sometimes seems futile, but fortunately I work with a team at the CIP across the disciplinary landscape that is as committed as I am to slowing the spread of misinformation and its negative impacts on society,” West said. As director, West appeared in scores of public-facing events, academic presentations, panel discussions and educational workshops, including speaking to dozens of local Rotary Clubs and community groups about how to spot misinformation; facilitating a popular AARP “factcheck ambassador” training program series in Washington state that was picked up by other AARP state chapters; and participating in book talks and workshops featuring Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World, the 2020 book he co-wrote with UW biology professor and CIP faculty member Carl Bergstrom. In the CIP’s second year, CIP-affiliated researchers — including its co-founders, faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, Ph.D. students, graduate and undergraduate research assistants
— have published more than 20 articles in academic journals and have been featured in more than 200 news interviews, including prominent coverage of the CIP’s work by outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Seattle Times, National Public Radio, the Associated Press and NBC News. As one of the center’s co-founders, West’s contributions will continue as a member of the CIP’s Executive Council and he’ll co-lead the CIP’s education and engagement work with iSchool senior principal research scientist and CIP co-founder Chris Coward.
Jevin West’s term as the Center for an Informed Public’s first faculty director ended in September.
“Spending my days and nights chasing misinformation sometimes seems futile, but fortunately I work with a team at the CIP across the disciplinary landscape that is as committed as I am to slowing the spread of misinformation and its negative impacts on society.” ischool.uw.edu
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