A CIP Election Rumor Rundown

Real voting issues become misleading narratives through false allegations of “voter fraud” intentions and other well-worn tactics.

Welcome to the Election Rumor Rundown Substack by the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington, covering rumors about election processes and procedures in U.S. elections. Click to...

Trump’s changes at the USPS are spawning rumors and sowing distrust in election processes

Here the UW Center for an Informed Public, we work to help everyday people — along with journalists and content creators — navigate the increasingly convoluted information landscape surrounding U.S…

Attacks on legitimate polls and the rise of fake polls make it hard for voters to know what to believe.

Attacks on legitimate polls and the rise of fake polls make it hard for voters to know what to believe.

AI science evaluation tools aim to assess research credibility. As with traditional metrics such as impact factors, their edicts can be decontextualised and repurposed in problematic ways. To addre...

Creators of AI tools need to be transparent about how they are designed, trained, and benchmarked to facilitate assessments of their purpose-specific reliability, liability to different kinds of er…

YouTube video by Center for an Informed Public at UW

As technologies and platforms rapidly evolve, teachers and librarians need more opportunities to create stronger peer and community connections.

Promising research in Europe found ways to increase newspaper readership and healthy news habits among high school students. This should be pursued in the U.S.

Dr. Kate Starbird explains how rumors, misinformation, disinformation, AI, influencers, and social media platforms shape collective sensemaking and democracy. Tune into Art of Citizenry Podcast!

As China, Iran, and Russia leverage AI tools and the Trump administration buys in to disinformation, voters and election officials must be more vigilant than ever.

The disappearance of local news outlets means Americans across the country turn to less reliable online sources for election information.

Unregulated prediction market betting could fuel misinformation and efforts to influence election outcomes.

Job Description The Information School’s Center for an Informed Public (CIP) has an outstanding opportunity for an Education Initiatives Manager to join their team. Although the position is open until...

Job Description The Information School’s Center for an Informed Public (CIP) has an outstanding opportunity for an Education Initiatives Manager to join their team. Although the position is open until...

Influencers are using prediction market odds to sow doubt in vote counting, in some cases in posts paid for by the companies themselves.

Nemer’s Human Infrastructure of Misinformation framework helps to explain how disinformation ecosystems operate on platforms that lack algorithmic curation.

Nemer’s Human Infrastructure of Misinformation framework helps to explain how disinformation ecosystems operate on platforms that lack algorithmic curation.

‘Something magical happens’ when there’s reciprocal teaching and learning across generations.

How a high school teacher created a day-long event where teens and seniors could spend time together at a “giant skills swap.”

As we adopt AI more widely in our work and personal lives, the impact of reduced information diversity becomes more and more of a problem.

Judicial communication has been defined by a culture of silence as a means of upholding the judiciary’s independence, legitimacy and authority.

Judicial communication has been defined by a culture of silence as a means of upholding its independence, legitimacy and authority.

Judicial communication has been defined by a culture of silence as a means of upholding its independence, legitimacy and authority.

Major news networks used to regularly present Americans with the same set of facts. Today, it's easy to stay in echo chambers with competing realities. On this episode, we take a look at how the media...

Organizing and hosting events focused on media and information literacy topics can bring together teens and the larger community. Presenters will share two models, A Day for an Informed Public and Med...

This year's Geeks Give Back honorees are advancing AI innovation and providing education and research in our rapidly evolving media landscape.

Neither political party is immune to conspiracy theories in a time of intense distrust in government and media, experts say

Ballots found near a dumpster in Renton WA spawn new (false) allegations of “rigged elections”

The University of Washington honored six students from the Information School in the 2026 Husky 100. Awarded to graduate and undergraduate students ma...

While the late 2010s saw concerted efforts to address disinformation, opponents of those efforts now dominate the public discourse.

Spiro and Starbird argue that studying rumor behavior offers deeper insight into today’s misinformation ecosystem—and can guide better response strategies.

mpowering Informed Communities (EIC), a project of the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public (CIP), has released an updated website with research-based media and information literacy resources and tools for public libraries. EIC publishes implementation-ready, patron-facing programs and provides professional development events and materials for library staff. The project partners with OCLC’s WebJunction, experts in public library professional development. WebJunction is helping to refine the project’s resources and produce professional development webinars based on CIP research. On the EIC website, library practitioners will find a series of “resource packs” focused on media and information literacy that are designed to be approachable, with no previous experience or expertise required. Each resource pack provides an introduction to the topic, ideas on how to approach the topic at their library, and a series of ready-to-use resources. The packs cover a wide range of topics, including the role of AI in everyday life, how emotions impact how we use social media, methods for online fact-checking, and how to use games in media literacy activities. The ready-to-use tools in the packs include handouts, presentations, posters, and game materials.

Apply by April 30, 2026 to be considered.

‘Something magical happens’ when there’s reciprocal teaching and learning across generations.