Damming the Flood of Digital Misinformation

KCBS Radio In Depth

We may be living in the information age, but somehow it seems to be getting harder and harder to understand what’s really going on.

With political parties, special interest groups and entire countries flooding the internet with misinformation the challenge of the modern era is not in locating sources of knowledge, but in sorting out the nuggets of fact from the overwhelming torrent of fiction.

In the edition of In Depth, we speak with Stanford University education professor Sam Wineburg who argues that one way we could get a better handle on the truth would be to start thinking a little bit more like historians.

His new book "Why Learn History (When It's Already on Your Phone)" examines how our loose relationship with the truth oftentimes begins with shortcomings in the classroom. It also offers practical advice for how we can all be savvier truth seekers in the digital age.

Host: Keith Menconi, KCBS Radio Reporter