The following article was submitted by Natasha Khan from the Lakeshore’s United Visionaries Board of Directors, and LuAnn Lonergan, a Retired Nursing Instructor on behalf of the Manitowoc Public Library.
On Thursday, May 19, at 6 PM, Lakeshore’s United Visionaries (L.U.V.) will be holding a virtual panel discussion hosted by Manitowoc Public Library. Our panel of five will feature two library experts, one retired nursing instructor, the President of PFLAG Manitowoc County, and a Board Member of L.U.V. We’ll present a short overview of misinformation, but then dedicate the majority of the remaining time to the panel addressing questions from community members following along live online. Our goal is for people to feel empowered by the information they encounter during the panel. And, hopefully, they’ll also gain some insight to help them combat misinformation.
Misinformation is all around us and it’s complicated. Every time we passively accept information without double-checking, or share a post, image, or video before we’ve verified it, we’re contributing to the problem. It doesn’t matter what your political, religious, or personal beliefs are—every side shares some responsibility for adding to the noise and confusion.
It can be difficult to filter out what is truth and what is fiction, especially in our current polarized political environment. In our panel, we will discuss types of misinformation and strategies for verifying sources. We’ll talk about some examples of misinformation, the motivations of those who create disinformation campaigns, and the negative consequences that can result from misinformation. Our goal is to create a safe space for meaningful conversation on this timely topic.
Misinformation not only affects individuals in the community—it also has systemic ramifications. This panel will speak to the library’s role in providing information and protecting free speech, as misinformation can also instill a mistrust of institutions and subject matter experts. Lastly, our panel will explore how misinformation hindered the fight against the pandemic.
This panel will be the first in a three part series where L.U.V. addresses topics we feel are pertinent to our community members. We are grateful to be partnering with Manitowoc Public Library to present topics that are relevant and timely. L.U.V. was created in 2020 in the wake of the George Floyd murder. Our mission is to uplift the lives of marginalized individuals. Our goal is to recognize intersectional identities through allyship, awareness, education, understanding, and love. We are devoted to helping and supporting our racially and ethnically diverse community, as well as making our community more welcoming and inclusive. Learning how to separate misinformation from fact will help make our community a safer place for everyone.
“Personally, I feel like this topic is very timely and very important, especially when we see examples in our own community. In a country that is already very polarized, the last thing we need to be doing is fighting over whether the information we are seeing is even factual. We’ve seen with COVID and related topics that misinformation can literally be a matter of life or death.” – Natasha Khan, L.U.V. Board Member
“The public deserves accurate information to make informed decisions about their healthcare and the healthcare of their family members. Misinformation is dangerous and will not protect your children.” – LuAnn Lonergan RN, MSN
Please follow the link below to submit questions you may have surrounding this topic: