Joel Best to discuss Facts, Fake and other F-Words Wednesday, Feb. 26
Being in the middle of an election, Department of World Languages and Cultures faculty member Christi Brookes emphasized that knowing how to sort between facts and fiction is one piece to the puzzle of being informed.
Brookes is the co-director of the committee who collaborated on the event, "Facts, Fake and Other F-Words: Critical Thinking in Contentious Times." The event features Joel Best, a professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware, who has written about social problems and the misinformation that can come with them.
Best will be speaking at the event at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26 in French Auditorium.
Brookes said students are encouraged to attend and learn “which sources to trust and (how to) use that knowledge as a professional." She hopes students will take away an understanding of how to make decisions when looking at false information versus facts in news.
Best will offer perspective about dealing with fake news, using statistics to further explain his reasoning and thinking, Brookes said.
The event is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The event is part of the college's Critical Engagements series, which this year has the theme "Fake News: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?"
