JSIS 495: Task Force - Winter 2018: Task Force J

‘Alternative Facts’: Strategies to Counter Fake News, Conspiracy Theories, and Disinformation

Scott Radnitz, TTH 230-420

Democracy worldwide has recently come under strain as distrust in political institutions, coupled with the rise of social media, has led to the proliferation of fake news, conspiracy theories, disinformation, and "alternative facts". This task force will devise strategies for the US or an intergovernmental body to push back against this trend and lay the groundwork to reestablish facts as the basis of public policy.

Starting Points: Guides to Resources

Background, Context, & Sources

A Dictionary of Media and Communication (2ed)
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CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window Reports about journalism, media, and free speech issues including background info & pro/con views, 1923-present.
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Fake News & Literacy Resources (Google Drive) Research compiled by UW Librarians.

Gale Ebooks This link opens in a new window Encyclopedias in all subject areas including journalism.
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Journalism Ethics & Regulation
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State of the News Media (Pew Research Center)
Trust in Media (report from CQ Researcher)
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Search Tips

Example Policy Reports

Citation Management

Domestic News

Access World News Full-text, 1980s-present Newspapers, transcripts, wire services, broadcasts. Includes the Seattle Times from December 1895 to the present and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer from 1986 to the present.
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Alt-PressWatch This link opens in a new window Selected newspapers, magazines, and journals of the alternative and independent press.
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Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window Journal, magazine, and newspaper articles written primarily by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian & Pacific Islander, and Jewish people, covering 1959-present.
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Google News

Military & Government Collection This link opens in a new window News and scholarship on all branches of the military and government.
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Television News Archive This link opens in a new window Archive of national television news broadcasts, 1968 to present.
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US Newsstream This link opens in a new window Washington State, national & regional newspapers, 1980 - present
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International News

Access World News Full-text, 1980s-present Newspapers, transcripts, wire services, broadcasts. Includes the Seattle Times from December 1895 to the present and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer from 1986 to the present.
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China Core Newspapers 中国重要报纸全文数据库 (CNKI) This link opens in a new window Articles in mainland China newspapers, covering literature, history, philosophy, economics, politics, law and education from 2000 to present. See User Guide. To switch to an English language interface, use the pull-down language menu in the top right corner.
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Complete Database for Japanese Magazines and Periodicals from the Meiji Era to the Present (Koseisha) 雑誌記事索引修正データベース This link opens in a new window Major database for periodical articles published in Japanese, including local periodicals not present in other indexes. 1868 to present.
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Computerized Index to Philippine Periodical Articles (CIPPA) This link opens in a new window Articles from over one hundred popular magazines, journals and leading newspapers published in the Philippines, 1988 to the present.
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Global Newsstream This link opens in a new window
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People's Daily Online 人民日报 This link opens in a new window Official newspaper of the central government of China from 1946 to present.
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Russian News Database (Integrum) This link opens in a new window Russian archive of newspapers, magazines, news wires, statistics, business and law databases, encyclopedias and dictionaries.
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Databases for Scholarly Articles

Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
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Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
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Communication Source This link opens in a new window
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Education Source This link opens in a new window
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PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
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PsycArticles This link opens in a new window
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PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
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Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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