On Tuesday, October 29, at 9:30 AM in Rayburn 2045, the Internet Archive and Wikimedia (the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia), in conjunction with the Congressional Internet Caucus and Public Knowledge, will host a panel discussion on efforts within the nonprofit internet to combat misinformation online by promoting and connecting users with reliable primary sources.

The Internet is the fastest and best way yet devised for disseminating information. That same efficiency, however, allows hoaxes and misinformation to spread alongside (and, in some cases, faster and farther than) accurate information. Among the root causes of this complex problem is a lack of easy, reliable ways for Internet users to distinguish good information from bad, or authoritative sources from propaganda.

The Internet Archive and Wikimedia are committed to making it easy for users to access authoritative and primary sources. As more and more people turn to websites such as Wikipedia to tell truth from fiction, we owe it to them–and to the information ecosystem at large–to make it easy to verify an article\’s contents by connecting them to high-quality, published sources.

Breakfast will be served: Bagel Bar, Coffee, and Juices.

Panelists include: 

Erik Stallman, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law and Associate Director of the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at Berkeley Law

Chris Freeland, Director of Open Libraries, Internet Archive

Sherwin Siy, Senior Public Policy Manager, Counsel, Wikimedia Foundation

Meredith Rose, Policy Counsel, Public Knowledge (Moderator)