Thanks to Barb W.
Thank you for expressing interest in joining AARP Washington, BECU and the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public (CIP) in supporting the new Fact Check Ambassador Program to help identify misinformation in social media and elsewhere in your digital neighborhoods. The first project our team of volunteers (all of you) will be focusing on is misinformation around the 2020 elections – the so-called Election Integrity Partnership (EIP) project.
For those of you who could not make the October 30 training featuring Dr. Jevin West and his colleagues from the UW, or for those who wish to view it again, we are providing a recording of the training (found here).
We also want to take this opportunity to provide some resources that were mentioned during the training that may be helpful as we all begin submitting mis/disinformation for the 2020 election project.
Firstly, below is a list of the links that will be helpful as you submit examples:
1) Fact Check Ambassador Volunteers Step-by-Step Guide
2) Fact Check Ambassador Volunteers Landing Page (Link also in Step-by-Step Guide)
3) Potential mis/disinformation Submission Form (Link also on Landing Page)
4) Potential mis/disinformation Email Template (Link also on Landing Page)
5) Our email address for submissions and questions is: disinfotips@uw.edu
6) You can find a link to the slides from the presentation here.
One important note, the examples we reviewed are already confirmed cases of mis/disinformation; when you come across something during your day-to-day routine chances are that you will not know if it is true or not, which is okay! We want you to submit potential election-related mis/disinformation, at which point the CIP will dig deeper into anything you send our way. Also, The CIP will be working with AARP to coordinate updates that provide further information on what kind of mis/disinformation we will be looking for post-election, so keep an eye on your inbox.
The Center for an Informed Public (CIP) is taking the lead on managing the volunteers participating in the EIP project this fall. If you have not sent your email address to CIP to receive updates directly from them, please do so. You can forward your contact email to disinfotips@uw.edu. Also, CIP will be holding office hours to answer questions that come up as you begin to look for potential mis/disinformation. During these times please feel free to stop in the provided Zoom room and ask any questions you have around how/what to submit. Office hours will be held on the days and times listed below:
- Mondays: 1:30 – 2:30pm at this link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/9983186664
- Wednesdays: 2:00 – 3:00pm at this link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/7996271614
- Fridays: 1:30 – 2:30pm at this link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/7653358371
Finally, AARP is going to be working with the UW and BECU to develop a speaker’s bureau which will train folks to give virtual presentations on the topic of how to spot misinformation. This project is still in early development, but If you would like more information about becoming a speaker, contact Ashley Aitken from AARP Washington at aaitken@aarp.org.
Best,
AARP Washington and the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington