OCNews

The term “fake news” came to the public’s attention during the 2016 American presidential campaign and today, as the U.S. heads into another election cycle, the potential impacts are hard to ignore.

But is fake news a new phenomenon? How does it differ from propaganda? And is there any way to defeat it?

Okanagan College instructor Edward Henczel has spent 20 years working as a journalist around North America and Dr. Raluca Fratiloiu has studied the phenomena since her time in Communist-era Romania where she was surrounded by fake news and propaganda.

Together, they will deliver a two-part series at Okanagan College exploring the past, present and future of this ongoing problem.

Fake News: From Yellow Journalism to orange politicians is part of the Fascinating Intellectual Topics series that began last fall at Okanagan College. The series is comprised of two-day sessions that cover a range of subjects sharing a central theme of global citizenship.

“It’s been said that a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on and a 2016 study by the Pew Research Groups shows this is still true in the age of social media,” said Henczel.

Come prepared to explore ways to spot fake news and learn how others are detecting and debunking it. Bring a phone, tablet or a laptop for each class, as we will engage in some critical digital media analysis together.

The course will take place April 21 and 28 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.