Finding information when a single Google search pulls up billions of results is easier than it has ever been, but determining whether that information is the right information has only gotten harder. With malicious disinformation and accidental inaccuracies everywhere, what skills do we need in order to find answers we can trust? This course is a deep dive into all the skills that make up “information literacy,” including: analyzing issues of censorship, access to information, and freedom of speech; creating effective search strategies; evaluating and observing your own knowledge base and incorporating the perspectives of other researchers and information seekers; and critically evaluating information sources themselves, including a project to create a “fake news” website and then to debunk other groups’ disinformation using fact-checking techniques.
