Libraries take up the fight against fake news

The first program, “Fight the Fake” is all about building awareness around fake news, especially on social media platforms, and building media literacy in residents aged 12 and over.

Fight the Fake will be free to attend at Dudley Denny City Library on Wednesday, January 13, from 9.30am to noon.

Community and Client Services director Angela Hays said the program would give attendees the tools to judge real news from misinformation.

“Media literacy is a global initiative to combat the spread of spin, misinformation and fake news,” Ms Hays said.

“Journalistic ethics and values – things like honesty, fairness, accuracy and objectivity – are slipping away in a world were anyone can create social media ‘news’,” she said.

Attendees will participate in a challenging activity and discussion with a local ABC journalist and Dr Tanya Notley of Western Sydney University.  They will also join in on a virtual tour of the Museum of Australian Democracy.

Also on offer in early January is a series of workshops aimed at teaching young adults, aged 15 to 18, the core skills needed to produce video content for social media.

Ms Hays said the workshops would be hosted by an experienced local videographer and content creator and would give participants hands-on experience at video creation.

“Social media video marketing is a massive industry that is really taking off, so we expect this free workshop series to be really popular,” she said.

Workshops will be held at Dudley Denny City Library every Saturday from January 9 to January 30 and will run from 10am to 12.30pm.

To book your spot in either program, call the Library on 4961 9387 or head to mackay.qld.gov.au/whatson