Contact Name: Mana Tominaga, mtominaga@oaklandlibrary.org
Type of Initiative: Civic Engagement 

Description:

This new program has been offered on January 25 and on February 4, 2017. Developed by Adult Reference Librarians at the Oakland Public Library’s Main Library, the program is led by an OPL librarian at Main and other locations throughout the system.

The program listing was on our website http://oaklandlibrary.org/events/main-library/stop-fake-news and in the print monthly calendar or events.

The Information Age seems to be turning into the Misinformation Age, as we see increasing numbers of deliberately misleading stories passed along and received as news. Many online news outlets and social media “trolls” disperse fictitious stories and rumors, exciting people’s fears and paranoia. If you don’t know how to do your own fact-checking and cross-referencing, it can be difficult to recognize unbiased, fact-based news.

In this interactive workshop, find out how the library can guide you towards reputable sources and content, and provide you with a few critical tools to help you recognize fake news. We’ll also show you how to use the library’s various newspaper databases, including our new subscription to The New York Times Digital Edition.