The line between facts and opinions can be hard to navigate, with many people now looking at news through social media. So, the local News Literate Community Initiative held a panel event on Wednesday night to help people tell the difference.
Organizers say social media has played a big part in spreading content that is more opinion-based than factual.
They are hoping people leave these events feeling more confident in being able to interpret what they see, read, and hear.
Panelist Dr. Gi Yu, who is Dean of the University of Nevada's Reynolds School of Journalism, said, "I think the key for the solution to the problem that we have in terms of news, facts, and truth is education. Public education through this type of event is very crucial. Combating the misinformation and disinformation that is out there."
The News Literate Community Initiative frequently talks about the impact social media has when it comes to consuming news.
They say the younger generation being brought up with social media makes it harder for them to distinguish what's opinion-based or factual. Meanwhile, the older generation still might be used to the old-fashioned way of consuming news, and the new technology can be an overload of information they can't navigate.
Cynthia Ryan, who attended the event, told us, "Any opportunity to help people understand how to tell truth from fiction, news from opinion. I think it's more critical today than it has ever been at any time, largely because of social media. I hate to say that, but it is what it is."
Organizers say events like this are important to have for the community because they provide a space for people to learn how to identify misinformation, and they even say being able to trust the media is part of what keeps our nation democratic.
Steve Mulveon, who is a Co-Founder of the News Literate Community Initiative, said, "Our democratic society relies on involved citizens to be involved in the government, to know what's going on, to understand the issues that if we have trouble separating fact from fiction, it's very difficult for people to be involved in that process with any degree of confidence."
Organizers encourage the public to continue to research matters and notice when multiple outlets are sharing the same information and where it came from.
