Information and library science professionals are experts who can guide users to trusted resources. So how do they cope with a world where facts can be complicated, users distrust traditional information sources, and elected officials share false or harmful content?

At UNC’s School of Library and Information Science, they can enroll in Dr. Francesca Tripodi’s Misinformation and Society class for a sociological analysis of how power complicates knowledge production. Throughout the semester, they explore historical perspectives, examine their own beliefs, and learn to think critically about the process of acquiring information.

The Course

This year marks the third time Professor Francesca Tripodi has offered the Misinformation and Society course. Each year the class attracts students ranging from undergraduates to doctoral students, and Tripodi often allows students to register until every seat in the room is full.

Tripodi herself is likely part of the course’s appeal. She is not only academically impressive, but engaging, humorous, and passionate about teaching. A sociologist and information scholar, Tripodi is a principal investigator at the Center for Information Technology and Public Life (CITAP) at UNC-Chapel Hill and an affiliate (former postdoctoral scholar) at Data & Society Research Institute. She has twice testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to explain how online search relevance is gamed to drive ideologically based queries and spread conspiratorial logic. Her work is frequently covered by mainstream press.

Gaining Historical Perspective

“Some really important scholars—Deen Freelon, Rachel Kuo, Alice Marwick—have reinvigorated the concept of critical disinformation studies. What I love about their work is how they tie in foundational work. Back in the 1930s,  W.E.B. Dubois linked the creation of knowledge to power,” said Tripodi.

 “If we want to study Information, we need to understand how misinformation, propaganda, conspiracy, or the spread of lies is part of the process that models and sustains power. Even information that we think of as ‘Truth’ can be problematic. The point of the class is to provide a historical overview of how we come to trust information, what stories are enacted,  and why that matters. “

Engaging Assignments

To help students grapple with these challenging topics, Tripodi is introducing some new assignments this semester.

“Sociology is about how our primary and social secondary socialization shapes how we see the world. What do we learn as children? How are we raised? How do the stories that are told and retold by our family, our friends, and our community come to shape who we think we are?” In order to engage with this concept of “deep stories,” students interview a peer, to provide some context for where they are all starting from.

This semester Tripodi is also asking them to interview a conspiracy believer or analyze the information spread by a famous person who advocates a conspiracy. Students should try and figure out how they found information that supports this belief and try to figure out why its different from their own worldview.

“Another thing they’re doing this year is they have to visit a local park, monument, or mural and understand whose story is being represented, whose is not, and why that matters. I want them to figure out who created it and who funded it.  I want them thinking holistically about power, information, and memory, to understand how that’s connected to things like misinformation.”

The final assignment is a paper that analyzes a historical topic that hasn’t necessarily been framed as disinformation but was a lie created to hold on to power. “Some of the assignments that students have turned it in the past look at like body image for example, or BMI. It can be even very silly. Like why do we think spinach has so much iron? Or more serious things, like the decision in New York not to put fluoride in the water.  So thinking about the role of power and how that shapes our historical legacy.”

Lesson for the Rest of Us

For those not enrolled in her classes, Tripodi has a few tips on how to become a better consumer of information—and it relates to the popular call to “do our own research.”

“A lot of times people do their own research with the best of intentions, and we forget that how we start that search process leads us into the direction that we will go. So, if we see something that doesn’t seem right on TikTok or Twitter, and then we use those same words to create a search query, the likelihood that the same information will be returned to you is high. And it’s easy to think that because you did that two-step process the information is somehow more valid or you’re like, ‘Oh, I did my own research.’ But because of how relevance works, that’s not necessarily the best way to do it.”

Tripodi also encourages people to consider the issue of insular information. “If you are talking about something that someone you trust has no idea about, that should probably be a red flag. What you’re looking at is insular. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong, it just means that only this small section of society is thinking about it. So you might want to question why that is. Sometimes it’s because the larger system shuts it down, and that’s how activism works. But people with a vested interest, whether it be a for-profit or corporate power or a political power, might be manipulating you.”

Next Generation Leaders

Tripodi’s course on mis/dis/mal-information is more than just an academic exercise; it is a vital tool for preparing students to navigate the complexities of the modern information ecosystem. By fostering critical thinking and encouraging students to question the sources and intent behind the information they encounter, this course empowers the next generation of information professionals to understand the cultural complexities of truth in an increasingly globalized world.

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Related Research Areas: Social Informatics