Syracuse Sun

Members of the University community are set to participate in an interactive lecture on March 26 aimed at addressing misinformation and disinformation. The session, titled "Decoding Deception: Advancing Critical Thinking to Strengthen Democracy," will be held at 6 p.m. in Grant Auditorium within the Falk College Complex.

Regina Luttrell, senior associate dean and associate professor of public relations at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, along with Jason Davis, research professor in the Office of Research and Creativity at the Newhouse School, will lead the event. The focus will be on equipping attendees with skills for detection, attribution, and characterization to effectively counter deceptive narratives.

This lecture is part of the Life Together: Seeking the Common Good in a Diverse Democracy initiative spearheaded by Gretchen Ritter, vice president of civic engagement and education. This initiative started with a community conversation in October and has expanded this semester.

The event invites all members of the University community who value informed citizenry and seek strategies to promote a truth-centered democratic society. Gretchen Ritter states, “Part of being an engaged citizen is being well-informed on pertinent public issues. We want to help the members of our campus community to be engaged, thoughtful citizens by helping them to understand whether different sources of information are reliable and trustworthy or suspect and problematic.”

Jason Davis highlights the importance of regaining public trust in news and information amid eroding civil society trust. He remarks that fostering critical thinking and media literacy is essential for navigating today’s complex information environment while safeguarding democratic principles.

Luttrell emphasizes understanding disinformation's long-term impact as crucial for protecting democracy and informed decision-making. She hopes participants gain insight into how media manipulation shapes our world and learn ways to assess its effects critically.

Both Luttrell and Davis co-direct the Newhouse School’s Emerging Insights Lab, which focuses on analytics, artificial intelligence, digital media research, as well as serving as an active classroom for faculty-student projects.