Responding to the Crisis of Misinformation with Humanities-Inspired Data Reasoning

Jevin West, Responding to the Crisis of Misinformation with Humanities-Inspired Data Reasoning

The spread of misinformation is among the most pressing challenges of our time. New platforms for human interaction and information sharing have opened the door to misinformation, disinformation and other forms of networked manipulation, which not only mislead and create divisions, but also diminish trust in democratic institutions and ourselves. In this talk, I will focus on critical reasoning as antidote. I will pay special attention to misinformation that comes wrapped in data, statistics, and algorithms. I will provide examples of selection bias and muddled data visualization, distinguish between correlation and causation, and examine the susceptibility of science to strategic misinformation. And I will highlight the critical role of the humanities in strengthening data reasoning and data science skills, more broadly.