NLP Annual Report FY20 - Flipbook - Page 9
COVID-19 response
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit
the United States in early 2020, we
recognized that NLP’s mission had
never been more important.
It underscored both the threat to public health posed by
pervasive misinformation and the need for expanded news
literacy education to combat it.
We responded quickly in the following ways:
Removed the paywall for Checkology on March 18, 2020;
by June 30, we had 377 new educators or parents and
17,349 new students use the platform.
Created a dedicated page on our website for
coronavirus-related material to help everyone learn to
discern credible information about the virus.
Partnered with the data reporting analysis leader SAS
to develop a series of blogs that helped the public
understand the data being reported about the pandemic.
Hosted two webinar series: one focused on how to
teach news literacy skills and one in partnership with the
Metcalf Institute at the University of Rhode Island about
the urgent science communication challenges presented
by the pandemic.
“Each and every day
of this epidemic has
been rife with teachable
moments for drilling
down on truth, whether
it be examining the
credibility of the sources
who are providing
guidance, comparing the
approaches that different
government officials have
used locally, nationally
and globally or examining
the investigations of
watchdog reporters who
are following the actions
of officials.”
— Brian Winkel, high school
teacher, Cedar Falls, Iowa
These collectively drew 1,768 attendees.
Added a new module in Informable on COVID-19
misinformation.
NNLW and COVID-19
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