Why I started the School of Hard Facts

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Once "alternative facts” and "fake news" entered our everyday lexicon and I saw how rapidly and easily misinformation spreads, it seemed urgently necessary to teach students how to actively thwart the circulation and harmful effects of inaccurate information.

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Consequences of Misinformation

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Without an educational intervention, the destructive impact of faulty facts and beliefs will continue to go unchecked (literally), stoking divisiveness, posing hazards to our individual and collective health, and destabilizing our democracy. 

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The School of Hard Facts's curriculum — fun, interactive and activities-based — is my answer to this problem. 

 

Lasting Lessons ​

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When students leave my six-day course, they'll know how to parse the news with a fact-checker's skepticism, neutrality, and precision, filtering out toxic and inaccurate messaging from every imaginable media platform, including TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Fox News and CNN. 

 

By teaching them how to interrogate the media, the School of Hard Facts will improve their critical thinking and reading skills. 

 

They’ll finish the program with a fact-checker’s media savvy and skill — and the ability to help forestall the damaging outcomes of misinformation. 

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