Digital Misinformation Prompts University Courses on Media Literacy
Bob Groven checks in with a small group discussion that included, from left, Jordan Reneau, Tre Teka and Quincy Shepherd, about which text message examples presented were likely scams during his class on Nov. 18 at Augsburg University in Minneapolis. Photo by Jeff Wheeler/The Minnesota Star Tribune
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The college students gazed intently at the screen, trying to discern whether the photo was real or created by artificial intelligence.
“It’s almost like a smudged painting,” said Quincy Shepherd, a junior. “There’s just something wrong with it.”
The photo was, in fact, real. Luckily, the Augsburg University students were better at identifying videos and photos that were fake, picking up on clues like people staring at nothing or a woman’s strange gait.
The class, called “Defense Against the Dark Arts,” is among a handful of similar offerings to pop up across Minnesota, aiming to help students recognize and protect themselves from disinformation and misinformation, which many experts say are increasingly powerful in our digital age. Some have provocative titles — the University of Minnesota is offering a “Calling Bullshit: How to Live in a Factual World” class next semester, while Carleton College students can enroll in “Bullshit: How to Spot it and Protect Yourself” this spring.
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