Keith Erekson
FRI, JULY 12, 2024 | 7:30-9:00 pm MDT
Discover Sources and Strategies for Discerning—and Discussing With Others—Myths, Fake News, and Conspiracy Theories
Bell Hall
389 East 1st Ave.
Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Thanks to Lisa Cannon for sharing her home and historic Danish Lutheran church with us. Parking is found throughout the neighborhood. There is no parking lot for the church. Enter through the main front door of the church at the gate on 1st Ave and up to the top of the steps.
Or join us via the large Zoom link below in blue. But the experience is better in person so come join us!
Thanks to Tim and Aubrey Chavez and the Faith Matters Foundation for providing the Zoom connection. Scroll down the page for the link to connect virtually. Below that link are some helpful tips for being part of a Zoom convo.
To get email notifications of upcoming conversations go to the bottom of this site’s home page or text or call me at 801-695-5036.
I’m delighted those who can’t attend in person can join virtually. I’m sorry I can’t give you the same care and attention given to those in person. Please contact me if you have suggestions for improvement.
THE CONVERSATION:
Rumors, hoaxes, conspiracy theories, forgeries… American culture is currently awash with misinformation and disinformation about everything from politics to health care to religion. How can we recognize rumors? Who is most susceptible to them and why? How can we discern and embrace what is real? How do we engage with people who accept what are considered to be errors and conspiracy theories?
ABOUT KEITH:
Keith Erekson is an author, teacher, and public historian who has published on topics including politics, hoaxes, Abraham Lincoln, Elvis Presley, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He grew up in Baltimore, served an LDS mission in Brazil, and earned advanced degrees in history and business. He currently works for the LDS Church History Department in efforts to encourage outreach and historical engagement.
EXPLORE BEFORE WE MEET:
Suggestions from David:
- Erekson, Keith A. Real vs. Rumor: How to Dispel Latter-Day Myths (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021)
- How Can We Find Truth in a Sea of Information?, Liahona, April 2023
- Elvis Has Left the Library: Identifying Forged Annotations in a Book of Mormon, BYU Studies 57, no. 4 (2018): 51–77
- Peanut Butter at the Pearly Gates? What a Quote Misattributed to Sister Hinckley Teaches about Latter-Day Saint Myths, LDS Living, May 19, 2021
Websites that monitor hoaxes, urban legends, and scams:
- Snopes (snopes.com)
- Hoax Slayer (hoax-slayer.com)
- Annenberg Public Policy Center’s FactCheck (factcheck.org)
- Politifact (politifact.com)
- Washington Post’s Fact Checker (washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker)
- Quack Watch (quackwatch.org)
- Source Watch (sourcewatch.org)
Suggestions from Jay:
- How should you talk to friends and relatives who believe conspiracy theories?
- Helping People Escape a Rabbit Hole of Conspiracy Theories
- Why You Can Never Argue with Conspiracy Theorists | Argument Clinic | WIRED
- 7 Steps to Disprove a Conspiracy Theory
- How to talk to someone about conspiracy theories in five simple steps
- Toward A More Positive Conspiracy, Public Research Associates. (Thanks Ross Collier!)
- Click on the Zoom link above for either last month’s recorded conversation (if the event date has passed) or the live conversation now. If you are participating in the live conversation keep reading.
- When you are connected you will either be waiting in a lobby and will let be in shortly or you will immediately be able to see other participants. Please make sure that you are muted and that your video is on if you choose to have it on. (Love to see and hear you live, but we’ll take curious lurkers also.)
- If you can’t hear the host, me, or others, find your settings and make sure you have a working microphone and speaker selected. OR maybe the problem is on my end so please let me know if it is.
ZOOM ETIQUETTE:
- Please mute your microphone before entering and when you are not speaking so noises are not heard by everyone else.
- If you are going to multitask—not recommended—or wander around a lot, please turn off your video and make sure you are muted. No one wants to be distracted by you eating or using the loo.
