Dixie State University to host forum on fake news

Diving into what “fake news” really means, NewsGuard’s vice president of news literacy programs will present at the next installment of Dixie State University’s weekly lecture series Dixie Forum: A Window on the World.

Sarah Brandt will present “The Secret Ingredients of Fake News: What We’ve Learned From Writing Nutrition Labels for News” via conference video call from her office in Chicago.

The lecture is set to take place at noon on Feb. 4 in the Dunford Auditorium, located in the Browning Resource Center on the Dixie State campus. Admission is free, and the public is encouraged to attend.

In her Dixie Forum presentation, Brandt will discuss how misinformation goes beyond celebrity death hoaxes and bogus “news” websites. Additionally, she will describe how NewsGuard’s teams of journalists research and review the credibility of thousands of websites, become familiar with misinformation and identify its common themes.

Brandt will leave audiences knowing what “fake news” means and how to avoid it.

Brandt, a graduate of Yale University, oversees NewsGuard’s pro-bono media literacy program that is used in more than 600 public libraries and by educators across the globe.

Prior to joining NewsGuard, Brandt worked as an associate consultant for Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm.

Dixie Forum is a weekly lecture series designed to introduce the St. George and Dixie State communities to diverse ideas and personalities while widening their worldviews via a 50-minute presentation.

The next installment of the Dixie Forum, which is set to take place at noon on Feb. 11 in the Dunford Auditorium, will feature a presentation about the mystery of Skeleton Lake in the Himalayas.