Sometimes the things we read are so fantastic we dismiss them right away. Other times they can actually cause you to stop and wonder if there could be a kernel of truth buried within.
Have you ever been misled by a Facebook post? A video on YouTube or TikTok? People have felt negatively about both the COVID-19 pandemic, and the vaccines developed to help stem the tide of infections.
It can be hard to know what to believe. How can we sort out what is true and what is not? Let the National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) and their invited speakers guide you during our upcoming webinar.
Join us on September 29 for an overview on misinformation and a discussion on how to make sense of this confusing online world we live in. Discover the different types of misinformation that exist, how it’s faced in Indian Country and the best strategies to counter it to protect yourself and others.
Speakers include NICOA’s Executive Director Larry Curley (Navajo Nation) and Project Coordinator Rebecca Owl Morgan (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians); along with Ahmer Arif, assistant professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin; and Jason Young, senior research scientist and affiliate assistant professor at the Information School at the University of Washington, with affiliations to the Center for an Informed Public, and the Jackson School of International Studies.
Jason Young is a senior research scientist and affiliate assistant professor at the University of Washington (UW) Information School. He is also a Research Fellow at the UW Center for an Informed Public, a world-class research center focused on resisting misinformation, promoting an informed society, and strengthening democratic discourse.
Much of Jason’s work has focused on supporting Native communities through increased access to technologies like the Internet, as well as designing educational programs so that these communities can take advantage of those technologies. More recently his research has shifted to examine how the spread of false information — sometimes called misinformation — impacts rural and minority communities.
He is currently leading a project, funded by the US National Science Foundation, that creates educational resources designed to help rural communities and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities to find trustworthy information online.
Larry Curley serves as the executive director of the National Indian Council on Aging and as a member of the Navajo Nation with over 40 years of experience working in the aging and healthcare fields. Collaborating with Congress, other branches of the federal government, and national organizations on aging, Larry develops support for programs affecting elder American Indians and Alaska Natives.
He received a master’s degree in public administration and a certificate in gerontology at the University of Arizona. In Pima County AZ, Larry’s work as a gerontological planner was instrumental in establishing a county public fiduciary program. In Washington D.C., he worked as a lobbyist to successfully advocate for the passage of Title VI of the Older Americans Act, an amendment he authored.
Rebecca Owl Morgan is a project coordinator at the National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA). She is an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, located in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. She has degrees in history and library science. Her work at NICOA has highlighted the strengths and proud history of Native people and the helpful tools elders can use to become powerful self-advocates for themselves and their tribe.
Ahmer Arif an assistant professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin. His research falls at the intersection of computer science and social science and is situated within the fields of human-computer interaction and computer supported cooperative work.
He currently studies how people use communication technologies like social media to spread, shape and confront disinformation and misinformation. He also conducts research into designing experiences in which we can observe and reflect on our participation in these information spaces and the effects that is having on us. Beyond academia, he has worked as a researcher and consultant with large organizations like Facebook, Yahoo!, The World Bank and the UN.
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