The Camden Conference presents Martin Gagnon, former journalist and current reference librarian, at the Kennebunk Free Library on Wednesday, November 6 at 6:00 pm to discuss Fake News: Its Challenges, Consequences, and Rise.

This brief session will provide participants with tips to look critically and analyze both digital, television, and print media resources.  Through videos and slides, the session will examine the history of misinformation and the psychology of irrationality brought about by biases and social forces. This insightful presentation will also examine the role of technology in the creation and spread of “fake news” and suggest helpful resources to verify images and fact check news stories.

Gagnon, prior to his work in the public library profession, was a journalist for newspapers in Maine and New Hampshire.  In October 2017, Gagnon and a small team from the Auburn Public Library along with Sun Journal Editor Judith Myers traveled to Chicago to participate in a media literacy initiative. The Media Literacy at Your Library was a project of the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with many other partners.  The training and interactive workshop featured the curriculum of the Stony Brook University Center for News.

In 2018, Gagnon used the training and his past experiences in the journalism field to create a media literacy and “fake news” class at the Lewiston-Auburn Senior College along with a series of events at the library.  Seeing the amount of interest and general concern for the implications and lack of civil discourse fueled by misinformation, Gagnon created a companion website. The site is non-partisan and takes no advertising and can be viewed at  www.themediasavvycitizen.org.

This program is free and wheelchair accessible.  The Kennebunk Free Library is located at 112 Main Street in Kennebunk, Maine. For more information please call 207-985-2173 or email us at kfl@kennebunk.lib.me.us.