Wikiversity

Dis- and misinformation and their threats to democracy

This is a discussion of an interview 2024-09-13 with University of Kansas Journalism professor Patricia Weems Gaston.[1] A 29:00 mm:ss audio file, prepared for distribution as the fortnightly "Media & Democracy" show[2] syndicated for the Pacifica Radio[3] Network of over 200 community radio stations[4] will be posted here 2024-09-28.
It is posted here to invite others to contribute other perspectives, subject to the Wikimedia rules of writing from a neutral point of view while citing credible sources[5] and treating others with respect.[6]

University of Kansas Journalism professor Patricia Weems Gaston[1] discusses dis- and misinformation and their threats to democracy. Gaston won a Pulitzer prize in 1994 for a series for the Dallas Morning News on the universality of violence against women and served as a Pulitzer Prize juror in 2024.[7] She helped organize a virtual series of presentations in 2022 on "Wellness in Our Democracy: The Threat of Disinformation and Misinformation".[8]

University of Kansas journalism professor Patricia Weems Gaston is interviewed 2024-09-13 regarding dis- and misinformation and their threats to democracy
29:00 mm:ss excerpts from an interview 2024-09-13 by Karl Brooks and Spencer Graves with University of Kansas journalism professor Patricia Weems Gaston on dis- and misinformation and their threats to democracy

Gaston has held the Lacy C. Haynes chair of Journalism at the University of Kansas since 2018. She grew up in Kansas City and earned a B.A. in journalism from KU in 1981. Since then she has held multiple journalism and editorial positions with the Dallas Morning News and the Washington Post.[1]

The threat

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Internet company executives have knowingly increased political polarization and violence including the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar, because doing otherwise might have reduced their profits. Documentation of this is summarized in Category:Media reform to improve democracy.

Discussion

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[Interested readers are invite to comment here, subject to the Wikimedia rules of writing from a neutral point of view citing credible sources[5] and treating others with respect.[6]]

Notes

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Patricia Weems Gaston, Wikidata Q130215888
  2. ↑ Media & Democracy, Director: Spencer Graves, Pacifica Radio, Wikidata Q127839818{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. ↑ Pacifica Radio, Wikidata Q2045587
  4. ↑ List of Pacifica Radio stations and affiliates, Wikidata Q6593294
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The rules of writing from a neutral point of view citing credible sources may not be enforced on other parts of Wikiversity. However, they can facilitate dialog between people with dramatically different beliefs
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wikiversity asks contributors to assume good faith, similar to Wikipedia. The rule in Wikinews is different: Contributors there are asked to "Don't assume things; be skeptical about everything." That's wise. However, we should still treat others with respect while being skeptical.
  7. ↑ Riggs (2024).
  8. ↑ Ryan (2022).

Bibliography

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