RESOURCES & SOLUTIONS
Edited by Henry Learner, The Integrity Project
TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS
NewsGuard
New York-based NewsGuard provides many services to combat misinformation, but their most noteworthy solution is NewsGuard Ratings. NewsGuard Ratings provide a score for all the news sources that account for 95% of online engagement using nine basic, apolitical criteria of journalistic practice. NewsGuard data helps individuals, governments, companies, and organizations fight misinformation and teach media literacy through data integrations and other partnerships.
Additionally, their software can be implemented in schools and public libraries, making it a feasible tool to improve digital media literacy. I believe NewsGuard is the best technical solution for public consumption to date, superior to fact-checking due to its focus on exposing bad actors (rather than just bad content) as well as its desire to inform a variety of consumers. NewsGuard's work is similar to the purpose of our initial research plan with Young Mie Kim, and could potentially be an ally moving forward.
Politifact
Operated as part of Florida-based media think tank Poynter Institute, Politifact is an independent fact-checking organization whose purpose is to give citizens the information they need to govern themselves in a democracy. In addition to fact-checking news sources and social media posts, they fact-check politicians and track the follow-through of their campaign promises. Politifact has become one of the most noteworthy solutions for misinformation, partnering with states to create "State Editions" that focus on their local politics (which will soon happen in Arizona).
Fact-checking is an important aspect of correcting misinformation, but it is too reactive to be a long-term solution. Fact-checking pulls at the weeds of misinformation, but we need solutions that remove its roots in society. Politifact coming to Arizona is a step in the right direction, and we will be partnering with Mi-Ai Parrish and Kristy Roschke to create a Media Literacy class through the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication as part of a Politifact partnership offered to master’s students in the Fall.
Graphika
New York-based Graphika leverages AI to reveal and study online communities by analyzing how online social networks form, evolve, and are manipulated. Although they don't focus exclusively on the misinformation environment, a big part of their business is disinformation detection, analysis & monitoring to protect societies, platforms, and organizations from coordinated and inauthentic online activity at scale. Graphika has partnered with Fortune 500 companies, Silicon Valley platforms, universities, think tanks, and humanitarian groups. I believe the research and insights provided by Graphika (as can be seen in their Case Studies) is fundamental in understanding the online communication ecosystem and could be a potential partner for a future research project focused on Arizona.
POLICY SOLUTIONS
Global Disinformation Index
The Global Disinformation Index provides independent, neutral, and transparent data and intelligence to advise policymakers and business leaders about how to combat disinformation and its creators. In addition to providing policy and advocacy advising, the GDI also conducts a neutral, independent, transparent index of a website’s risk of disinforming readers as well as an independent, non-profit open source intelligence hub, which tracks disinformation and extremism across platforms online. Although they analyze governmental policies that address misinformation across the world (with their most recent report being close to a year ago), the GDI does not appear to have influence over policy-making decisions outside of the data they provide to governments. The GDI is a world-renowned not-for-profit company with a vast array of funders, advisors, and partners, and I believe they model the future of The Integrity Project.
Arizona Task Force on Countering Disinformation
The Task Force on Countering Disinformation was established to study and make recommendations related to disinformation and misleading campaigns targeting the U.S. and Arizona justice systems. The Task Force was also established to propose approaches to public education and to communicate the roles and processes of courts accurately, among other goals. By the end of 2020, the Task Force made 27 recommendations in nine broad categories, and in 2021, the Task Force followed up on or implemented its original recommendations. The Task Force published its Concluding Report in March 2022 and the Task Force appears to have disbanded since then, but something worth noting is its focus on establishing media literacy training through multiple outlets, including schools. Although it may be difficult to reestablish the Task Force on Countering Disinformation, its past members and previous recommendations may be able to guide The Integrity Project in Arizona's communication ecosystem.
RESEARCH
Center for an Informed Public
With a mission to “resist strategic misinformation, promote an informed society, and strengthen democratic discourse,” the University of Washington's Center for an Informed Public assembled world-class researchers, labs, thought leaders, and practitioners in December 2019 to translate research about misinformation and disinformation into policy, technology design, curriculum development, and public engagement.
The Center seeks to shorten the cycle between research and implementation through a strong network of urban and rural libraries, national network of educators, and institutional partners. The nonpartisan Center brings together diverse voices from across industry, government, nonprofits, other institutions, as well as those from communities and populations typically underrepresented in research and practice in this field. This interdisciplinary effort at the University of Washington is led by the Information School, Human Centered Design & Engineering and the School of Law, with collaboration from numerous other university and community partners.
Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy
The Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy collaborates with a network of academic, policy, journalistic and community stakeholders to understand and address the democratic harms of emerging media technologies and to inform and develop fair and accountable governance systems. Although they conduct multiple projects closely related to the mission of The Integrity Project, their most relevant one is the Media Ecosystem Observatory. The Media Ecosystem Observatory project is one of Canada’s leading research institute focused on Canadian information ecosystem health. Based out of the McGill Max Bell School of Public Policy and University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, the Observatory produces timely, academically rigorous, and policy-oriented insight into Canadian digital democracy. I believe the previous research conducted by the Media Ecosystem Observatory as well as their other projects can be utilized as a guide on how to better understand Arizona's communication ecosystem.
Information Futures Lab
The Brown University School of Public Health created the Information Futures Lab to combat misinformation, data deficits, outdated communication practices — and to catalyze innovation. Most notably, the lab connect researchers across disciplines and thinkers with doers, in addition to connecting funders with innovators and change-agents with peers. The Information Futures Lab also maintains a living literature review of research gathered from peer-reviewed journals and synthesizes findings into an accessible resource for anyone who works in or is interested in contributing to quality information systems. Their long-term approach combined with their actionable-centered research mirrors the mentality of The Integrity Project, and I believe we can leverage the network and previous work of the Information Futures Lab to successfully navigate our role in Arizona.
Knight Foundation
The Knight Foundation is comprised of social investors who support a more effective democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and in the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once published newspapers (none in Arizona). Due to the magnitude of their network and influence, the Knight Foundation also collects insights from the areas where we work and shares them widely, including research reports on our media and democracy. I believe their research and network can be used to help accelerate the impact of The Integrity Project.
DIGITAL MEDIA LITERACY
Common Sense Media
Since 2003, Common Sense has been the leading source of entertainment and technology recommendations for families and schools. Find engaging media literacy lesson plans and curriculum for students of varying ages, support for parents, professional development tools and more at this non-profit that supports responsible media citizenship.
MediaWise
Teach people digital media literacy and fact-checking skills to spot misinformation and disinformation, with initiatives specifically designed to engage Gen Z, college students, and older Americans. Developed by Poynter Institute.
Civic Online Reasoning
Student education program created at Stanford.
Checkology
Free e-learning platform with engaging, authoritative lessons on subjects like news media bias, misinformation, conspiratorial thinking, and more. Created by News Literacy Project. Developed by Stanford History Education Group.
Center for Media and Information Literacy
I Am Not The Media
Media Literacy Now
Media Education Lab
Media Smarts
Gapminder
OTHER
● Pew Research Center - Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
● International Media Literacy Research Symposium - Initiative to bring together new and established researchers from all areas studying media literacy education around the world.
● National Association for Media Literacy Education - Professional association for educators, academics, activists, and students with a passion for understanding how the media we use and create affect our lives and the lives of others in our communities and in the world. Annual NAMLE Conference.