UPDATED: Here is information from national SPJ about the sessions and where to find them posted on YouTube:
If you missed any of the #SPJTruth activities, don’t worry. You can watch the discussions online. They feature tips on fighting disinformation, misinformation and claims of “fake news.” Need help deciding what to watch first?
ETHICS ESSENTIALS
Joy Mayer and Lynn Walsh of the Trusting News project share how you can respond to claims of misinformation, disinformation and “fake news” while defending your journalism.
Learn from Glenn Kessler, editor and chief writer of The Washington Post’s Fact Checker, and Asawin Suebsaeng, White House Reporter at The Daily Beast, about how to cut through lies, unproven conspiracies and disinformation and report the truth during this high-stakes election season, in this discussion moderated by SPJ Ethics Committee Chair Danielle McLean.
SPJ President-Elect Rebecca Aguilar is joined by Academy Award-Nominated Director Leslie Iwerks to discuss her new documentary “Selling Lies.” It offers a rare glimpse inside the secret network behind these websites, including one notorious ringleader whose social media reach had vast implications on American readers, and explores how disinformation campaigns are continuing to strongly impact the U.S. today leading into the 2020 presidential election.
ELECTION NIGHT ACCURACY
For #SPJTruth day, past SPJ National President and Ethics Committee member Fred Brown spoke with Julie Pace, Washington Bureau Chief for The Associated Press about calling winners in political races and the importance of accuracy on election night. She also discussed how they cover elections at AP, which is considered the most trusted source of information on election night with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. AP offers its expertise to its member news organizations, customers and the public across all platforms when it counts the vote, declares the winners and covers the results in the U.S. presidential election. Here are some resources and information about its process.
- How AP counts the vote
- How AP calls races
- How AP uses polling
- AP VoteCast methodology
- Video with Washington Bureau Chief Julie Pace: Understanding the election: Why this year is different
- Video with Election Decision Editor Stephen Ohlemacher on how we declare winners
- Video with Deputy Managing Editor David Scott on how we count the vote
ORIGINAL POST ahead of Oct. 22, 2020:
From national SPJ:
“We hope this day will help journalists in their endless pursuit of seeking truth and reporting it. And we hope the public will gain a better understanding of ethical journalism vs. disinformation and how they can help be a part of the solution.”
Starting at 11 a.m., a full schedule for the day will inspire and give practical tips. Check it out here. Links take you to registration pages. End the day with a screening of “Selling Lies,” followed by an interview with the film’s director.
October 22, 11:00 am ET
#SPJTruth Day: What’s fact and what’s fiction when reporting on the campaign trail?
Learn from Glenn Kessler, editor and chief writer of The Washington Post‘s Fact Checker and Asawin Suebsaeng, White House Reporter at The Daily Beast, about how to cut through lies, unproven conspiracies, disinformation and report the truth during this high-stakes election season. Moderated by SPJ Ethics Committee Chair Danielle McLean.
More information: Link
October 22, 12:00 pm ET
#SPJTruth Day Twitter chat
Participate in a Twitter chat with SPJ National President Matthew T. Hall using the #SPJTruth hashtag. The topic: Journalism Ethics and Integrity in 2020. Use the ‘More information’ link below to submit questions ahead of time.
More information: Link
October 22, 1:00 pm ET
#SPJTruth Day: How to respond to misinformation, disinformation, and ‘fake news’ while building trust with your audience
Featuring Joy Mayer and Lynn Walsh of the Trusting News project.
More information: Link
October 22, 4:00 pm ET
#SPJTruth Day: Disinformation during a heated presidential campaign
Social media is swarming with sophisticated disinformation campaigns and manipulated media that can snare even the most tech-savvy journalists. Groups and individuals frequently set traps for journalists, exploiting the algorithms designed to give social media users the platform experiences they’ve come to enjoy. With one of the most heated and divisive presidential campaigns still underway, the Society of Professional Journalists is hosting a free webinar via Zoom featuring a leading expert on online extremism, media manipulation and disinformation campaigns.
Fresh from testifying before Congress, Dr. Joan Donovan will sit for a one-hour interview with SPJ Journalist on Call Rod Hicks. Dr. Donovan is Research Director at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Hicks will focus his questions on online activity directed to journalists and ways journalists are unwittingly used to help spread misinformation and recruit for extremist groups.
More information: Link
October 22, 5:00 pm ET
#SPJTruth Day: ‘Selling Lies’ free screening and director interview
Screening of the documentary ‘Selling Lies,’ an explosive new film by Academy Award-Nominated Director Leslie Iwerks, followed by a Q&A with Iwerks and Rebecca Aguilar, SPJ president-elect.
In 2016, an army of teenagers in Macedonia discovered a wildly lucrative game of posting false political clickbait news articles on Facebook for profit. By creating websites leading up to the presidential election that published sensationalized and misleading news stories about American politics, they generated a massive income and influenced the election. Selling Lies offers a rare glimpse inside the secret network behind these websites, including one notorious ringleader whose social media reach had vast implications on American readers, and explores how disinformation campaigns are continuing to strongly impact the U.S. today leading into the 2020 presidential election.
Link TBA.
More information: Link