Media Literacy

Join us for a talk about fictional candidates for public office designed to help evaluate how various players try to manipulate our opinions. This is a non-partisan event.

In the run-up to the 2024 presidential election season, the mud-slinging is already well underway. Pundits for each side have accused various media outlets of playing favorites, intentionally misquoting the candidates and their supporters, and even defaming them.

We’ll discuss the legal outlines of defamation (a term that includes what most people think of as libel and slander) and walk through a few scenarios about fictional candidates for public office that will help participants look critically at what’s being reported and decide for themselves what they believe is true.

This is a non-partisan event. The fictional scenarios presented are not intended to mirror the actual candidates but only to illuminate the ways consumers of news can evaluate the information being offered.

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