Elections

WATCH: ‘Disinformation in Local Elections: How to spot it and what you can do’

By The News & Observer

America’s architects viewed the press as essential to our democracy, including it in the first article of our Bill of Rights.

And yet today we are faced with constant attacks on credible news and information. Factual, accurate reporting is routinely replaced by false information and disinformation campaigns through our social media feeds.

Please join us for a live virtual event exploring election disinformation from noon-1 p.m. on Oct. 20, 2020.

Moderated by News & Observer politics and government reporter Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, the panel features experts from North Carolina universities along with local journalists and national fact-checking organizations.

The event is sponsored by McClatchy’s three North Carolina news organizations - The News & Observer, The Herald-Sun and The Charlotte Observer - whose journalists are researching and reporting essential news around the clock, seven days a week.

What: Disinformation in Local Elections: How to spot it and what you can do

When: Noon-1 p.m., Oct. 20, 2020

Where: This free event will livestream on newsobserver.com, heraldsun.com and charlotteobserver.com.

Resources: Find our Fact Sheet here on “How to spot disinformation in U.S. and North Carolina”

Subscriptions help our local journalists host community conversations such as this. Subscribe here.

Amanda Sturgill is an associate professor of journalism at Elon University and the author of “Detecting Deception: Fighting Fake News.”
Amanda Sturgill is an associate professor of journalism at Elon University and the author of “Detecting Deception: Fighting Fake News.”

Amanda Sturgill teaches classes in editing, analytics, general studies and the interactive media graduate program.A Ph.D. graduate of Cornell University, she has professional experience in newspaper journalism and marketing communications.Her research focuses on the intersection of education and community-based work, the relationship of religion and media and on new technologies and the news. She is the author of “Detecting Deception: Fighting Fake News.”

Phil Napoli is a professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, and the author of “Social Media and Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age.”
Phil Napoli is a professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, and the author of “Social Media and Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age.”

Philip M. Napoli is the James R. Shepley Professor of Public Policy and a Faculty Affiliate with the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy. He also serves as a Docent at the University of Helsinki. His research focuses on media institutions and media regulation and policy; and he is the author of four books including “Social Media and Public Interest: Media Regulation in the Disinformation Age.”

Rafael Prieto, who joins us from Charlotte, is the editorial director of the Charlotte-based Qué Pasa-Mi Gente.
Rafael Prieto, who joins us from Charlotte, is the editorial director of the Charlotte-based Qué Pasa-Mi Gente.

Rafael Prieto Zartha, a journalist for 40 years who has lived in North Carolina since 2002, has worked in many Spanish-language print, television, internet and news agencies, including Univision, Telemundo, and La Opinión, the largest U.S. Spanish-language newspaper. Originally from Colombia, he is one of the founding members of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. He is a past winner of the Justice Seeker Award from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee.

Andy Specht, a former News & Observer politics and fact-checking reporter, is now the PolitFact North Carolina reporter at WRAL.
Andy Specht, a former News & Observer politics and fact-checking reporter, is now the PolitFact North Carolina reporter at WRAL.

Andy Specht was a News & Observer reporter for nine years, covering Raleigh’s suburbs, Raleigh City Hall, and the General Assembly, along with political fact-checks for the N&O and PolitiFact. He currently is the PolitiFactNC reporter at WRAL. He is a Raleigh native and a graduate of Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C.

Lori Robertson, who joins us from the Washington DC area, is the managing editor of FactCheck.org.
Lori Robertson, who joins us from the Washington DC area, is the managing editor of FactCheck.org.

Lori Robertson is a journalist who covered the media for nine years as an editor and writer for American Journalism Review, a bimonthly media watchdog magazine, before joining FactCheck.org in 2007. Previously, she was the administrative director of the Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families, a resource center for journalists covering at-risk kids. Robertson earned a B.A. in advertising from Duquesne University and a master in law from the University of Pennsylvania.

Taylor Shaw is the social media director at the University of Virginia.
Taylor Shaw is the social media director at the University of Virginia.

Taylor Shaw’s career has taken her from journalism to higher education. She’s passionate about storytelling and connecting audiences with thumb-stopping content. Right now, she’s the social media director at the University of Virginia. Taylor earned a B.A. in mass communication from Peace College (now William Peace University) and a master’s in journalism from American University. Taylor was born and raised in Durham.

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan
Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan

Moderator: Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan covers North Carolina state government and politics at The News & Observer. She has received the McClatchy President’s Award as well as several North Carolina Press Association awards, including for investigative reporting.

This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 3:18 PM.

Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER