Sixteen German and American Young Professionals Selected for Inaugural Journalism in the Era of Disinformation Fellowship

WASHINGTON - May 16, 2018 - Rezul -- Almost two-thirds of adults in the United States feel that 'fake news' is sowing confusion over the basic facts of current issues and events. Even more turn to social media platforms for news consumption despite low degrees of trust in the information received there.

The pervasiveness of disinformation in news media and technology's profound impact on the journalism industry in Germany and the United States are two of the central themes that 16 journalism professionals will explore firsthand during the inaugural year of the Journalism in the Era of Disinformation (JED) Fellowship, which gets underway later this week in Washington, D.C.

The fully-funded weeklong program aims to equip the fellows with the skills necessary to effectively navigate the ever-changing landscape of news reporting and media technology, while maintaining the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, and fact-based reporting.

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Beginning Saturday, May 19, the fellows from both countries will take part in a series of site visits, which will bring them to Charlottesville, Virginia; New York City; and Washington, D.C. to meet journalists, think tanks, and media experts and discuss the role of disinformation in political news coverage and explore possible strategies to counteract its rise.

Cultural Vistas has assembled a diverse itinerary that includes meetings with representatives of Politifact, The Associated Press, The New York Times, National Association for Media Literacy Education, Center for International Policy's Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative, and Charlottesville's The Daily Progress, among others.

At the conclusion of the program, the fellows will be tasked with reporting on program learning and best practices within their various media outlets in both countries, and will work to summarize the outcomes of their research in a white paper.

The JED Fellowship is funded by the Transatlantic Program of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany through funds of the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi).