Our mission is to resist strategic misinformation, promote an informed society, and strengthen democratic discourse.

Featured Video

American Library Association 2021 Meet the Author discussion with Calling Bullshit author Jevin West 
VIDEO | 06.23.2021

On June 23, Center for an Informed Public director Jevin West, an associate professor in the University of Washington Information School, participated in the 2021 American Library Association annual meeting for a virtual Meet the Author event where he discussed the work of the CIP and Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World, the August 2020 book he co-authored with UW Department of Biology professor and CIP faculty member Carl Bergstrom.

Featured News

$1 MILLION IN NEW FUNDING FROM CRAIG NEWMARK PHILANTHROPIES TO SUPPORT CIP’S RAPID-RESPONSE MISinformation AND DISINFORMATION RESEARCH 

NEWS | 06.30.2021

The University of Washington‘s Center for an Informed Public has announced $1 million in new funding from Craig Newmark Philanthropies that will support the multidisciplinary research center’s rapid-response research around election mis- and disinformation. “The CIP helps defend our country from people who wish us harm and from those wishing to destabilize our country through relentless disinformation that makes it harder to run a democracy that serves all the people,” said Craigslist founder Craig Newmark. “The folks at the CIP do a good job, helping us all out.” 
> READ MORE 

by auditing algorithms, researchers work to understand DYNAMICS OF online misinformation

RESEARCH | 05.25.2021

As the COVID-19 pandemic has brought new attention on algorithm-amplified misnformation, is there concrete, empirical evidence to prove or disprove anecdotal stories, opinion pieces and other assertions coming out in popular press? A paper recently presented at a leading academic conference by UW Information School researchers Prerna Juneja, a PhD student, and Tanu Mitra, an assistant professor and CIP faculty member, shows the importance of auditing algorithms to better understand the ways they do and don’t give greater traction to problematic content like vaccine misinformation. 
> READ MORE 

‘THE LONG FUSE: MISINFORMATION AND THE 2020 ELECTION’

NEWS | 03.03.2021

The Election Integrity Partnership, a nonpartisan group of researchers from the University of Washington‘s Center for an Informed Public, Stanford Internet Observatory, Graphika and the Atlantic Council’s DFRLab, released its final report on mis- and disinformation in the 2020 U.S. election. The CIP’s Kate Starbird was among EIP researchers presenting key findings, insights and recommendations from the final report during a March 3 virtual event.

> READ THE REPORT
> WATCH: RESEARCHERS DISCUSS KEY FINDINGS AND INSIGHTS

FEATURED resources 

‘MISINFODAY 2021: UNDERSTANDING THE ‘LANDSCAPE OF INFORMATION DISORDER’ 

EDUCATON | 03.18.2021

As part of MisinfoDay 2021, co-presented by the University of Washington‘s Center for an Informed Public and Washington State University‘s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, workshop facilitator Jacquelyn Mason, a senior investigative researcher at First Draft News, discussed the “Landscape of Information Disorder.” | WATCH THE WEBINAR 

WATCH OTHER MISINFODAY 2021 WORKSHOPS

> LEARN MORE ABOUT MISINFODAY 2021
> DOWNLOAD THE MISINFODAY 2021 TOOLKIT

> EDUCATION | Important lessons and key highlights from MisinfoDay 2021

 

CIP In the News 

MORE NEWS >


GET INVOLVED

We are looking for students who wish to get involved in CIP research. If you’re interested, fill out this form!

“It’s one of the most  important problems of our time that we as a society need to solve. This is not a left or right issue. This is an issue that transcends political boundaries. Everyone wants to get this right.”

— Jevin West, Director

 

CONFRONTING MISINFORMATION

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 such as science and journalism. The nonpartisan Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington brings diverse voices from across industry, government, nonprofits and other institutions together to confront the problem through our research, education, policy and engagement efforts. Learn More

WHAT WE DO

RESEARCH

We support cutting-edge research with a strong focus on research to practice, which spans disciplines from sociology to information science and law.

EDUCATION

We educate information consumers across the demographic landscape in order to make more informed decisions.

LAW & POLICY

We address information policy through generative analyses of the legal frameworks and the available levers for intervention.

ENGAGEMENT

We engage directly with the public in collaboration with our partners, libraries and community leaders.