ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Aug. 18, 2022) – Next month, the nonprofit Poynter Institute and its Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking site PolitiFact will discuss the role of facts in everyday American life with a number of the nation’s top experts in media, politics, technology and counterintelligence at the second annual “United Facts of America: A festival of fact-checking.”
The virtual celebration of facts will stream Sept. 27-29 and offer sessions with keynote speakers that bring voters context and clarity on the country’s most pressing issues leading up to the midterm elections like inflation, privacy, climate change, misinformation and more.
Register to attend “United Facts of America: A festival of fact-checking” Sept. 27-29, 2022
Judy Woodruff, anchor and managing editor of PBS NewsHour and 2017 recipient of the Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism, will give her take on America’s changing political landscape and share stories from her 50-year career, from covering the White House and moderating presidential debates to blazing new trails for women in journalism as one of the first to co-anchor a national news broadcast.
Asha Rangappa, assistant dean and a senior lecturer at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs and a former Associate Dean at Yale Law School, will bring her insight as a legal and national security analyst on domestic threats, classified investigations and surveillance work.
As a lead journalist who reports at the intersection of politics and technology, CNN correspondent Donie O’Sullivan will weigh the real-world consequences of online misinformation and examine the impact of conspiracy theories on American democracy, including voter participation, health care and the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Eric Deggans, veteran media analyst and NPR’s first full-time TV critic, will speak on public distrust of the media and examine the polarizing tactics that some of today’s fastest-growing news organizations use to target, distract and mobilize audiences.
Toluse Olorunnipa, White House bureau chief for The Washington Post and co-author of “His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice,” will discuss the systemic pressures that shape a person’s life and legacy and racial disparities in education, safety, housing, policing and more.
Jonathan Rauch, author and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, will debate the state of the nation’s exchange and development of fact-based information and offer solutions to counter disinformation campaigns, cancel culture and other threats to our shared information ecosystem.
David Broockman, associate professor of political science at UC Berkeley, will share his findings from a recent study of regular Fox News viewers and what happened when some of the participants were paid to watch CNN instead.
The online sessions will be facilitated by members of Poynter and PolitiFact’s teaching, reporting and executive teams including Poynter President Neil Brown, PolitiFact Editor-in-Chief Angie Drobnic Holan, Vice President for Sales & Strategic Partnerships and PolitiFact Executive Director Aaron Sharockman, and PolitiFact Managing Editor Katie Sanders.
On the second night of the festival, guests with VIP ticket access will be invited to attend an exclusive in-person conversation in Washington, D.C., with author and CNN legal analyst Joan Biskupic. The event, called “Beyond Politics: Facts and the Supreme Court of the United States,” will focus on the judiciary’s constitutional oath and its recent decisions on laws that impact the rights of millions of Americans, such as the reversal of Roe v. Wade, gun control, climate protection and religious freedom. Guests also will have the opportunity to ask Biskupic questions about her experience covering the highest court in the land for more than 30 years.
More special guests, speakers and moderators will be added to the agenda in the coming weeks. Tickets can be purchased at unitedfactsofamerica.com/register. Sponsorships are also available. Email sponsorships@poynter.org for details.
Proceeds from “United Facts of America: A festival of fact-checking” support the nonprofit work of Poynter’s PolitiFact, one of the nation’s largest independent newsrooms fighting online misinformation and reporting facts to help citizens to make more informed decisions. Funds raised will bolster the organization’s dedication to defend democracy, seek the truth and elevate fact-based expression for those who create and consume accountability journalism. For more information, please contact marketing@poynter.org.
Media Contact
Tina Dyakon
Director of Marketing
The Poynter Institute
tdyakon@poynter.org
727-553-4343
About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a global leader in journalism education and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media, and 21st-century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, and at newsrooms, conferences, and organizations around the world. Its e-learning platform offers the world’s largest online journalism curriculum, with hundreds of interactive courses and tens of thousands of registered international users. The Institute’s website produces 24-hour coverage about media, ethics, technology, and the business of news. Poynter is the home of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, the Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact, the International Fact-Checking Network and MediaWise, a digital information literacy project for young people, first-time voters, and senior citizens. The world’s top journalists and media innovators rely on Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians, and broadcasters. This work builds public awareness about journalism, media, the U.S. First Amendment, and discourse that serves democracy and the public good. Learn more at poynter.org.
