Disinformation has existed since at least Roman times. But social mediaâs ability to amplify and accelerate its spread has weaponized the virus of disinformation. Itâs eroding trust in the media and other institutions, infecting our campus, city and country.
Experts say the Infodemic is here. Overwhelmed with information, much of it false, this new epidemic leaves us uncertain about whatâs true and whatâs not. The result is that we too often fall for scams and false narratives while dismissing facts as âfake news.â
Syracuse University student-journalists spent this academic year exploring the Infodemic, the latest in-depth, multimedia reporting project from The NewsHouse and its partners.
Dozens of SUâs media students spent the school year investigating sources of scams and fraud and exploring the systems that contribute to the spread of misleading information. The result: more than 30 comprehensive stories packaged with photos, videos, illustrations, audio, data visualizations and interactives.
We started in the fall, reporting on the information vacuum in local communities of color and how the overturning of Roe v. Wade has increased disinformation on womenâs reproductive health and other timely stories. Then we developed pieces over the course of the year, including the impact of exploitative true crime media; the mechanisms behind phone scams and email phishing; and stories about banned books, deep fakes and AI, greenwashing, school ranking and many others. Our goal: to shine a light on the dark corners of disinformation.
Work of this depth and breadth would not have been possible without the collaboration of student designers, videographers, illustrators, social media coordinators, faculty mentors and co-publication opportunities with our partners, NPR affiliate WAER 88.3 and Syracuseâs South Side community newspaper, The Stand.
Funding made an enormous difference, allowing for reporting trips to the state capital and New York City, extensive multimedia production, Uber rides for reporters without cars, stipends for student leads and other advantages. We give our deepest thanks to Newhouse alumnus David Flaum and his wife, Jackie, whose generosity makes experiences like this possible for Newhouse students.
We also received substantial contributions from the Knight Foundation and its âCombatting Disinformation in Communities of Colorâ grant, Syracuse Universityâs SOURCE grant program, and the Newhouse Schoolâs support for graduate assistants.
Student Project
Coordinators
FAculty Project
Coordinators
Project team
production Coordinators
Social media Coordinator â Anthony Adornato
Editing Coordinator â Rawiya Kameir
Audio Coordinator â Chris Bolt
Story Coordinators â Aileen Gallagher, Eric Grode, Harriet Brown
and Ashley Kang
Social Media Producers
Chilekasi Adele
Sarah Alessandrini
Curran Campbell
Toluwanimi Fajolu
Matt Hassan
Brittany Miller
Matt Zumbolo
Reporters & Producers
Isabele Bekele
Rose Boehm
Cait Brady
Griffin Brown
Marissa Carello
Brian Cohen
Jordan Greene
Nate HarringtonÂ
Kyle Henderson
Sneha KC
Ava Leventhal
Joy Mao
Cameron McKeon
Mikayla Melo
Tyger Munn
Marnie Muñoz
Tyler O'Neill
Joey Pagano
Karla Perez
Natalie Rieth
Alejandro Rosales
April Santana
Chris Scarglato
Charles Sirey
Ryan Stephens
Skylar SwartÂ
Sophie SzydlikÂ
Digital producers
Cait Brady
Jordan Greene
Ava Leventhal
Cameron McKeon
Nell Schwartz
Skylar Swart
Content Editors
Mark Budd
Maxine Chi
Sophie Cohen
Anthony Del Trecco
Cali Delisle
Josh Feldstein
Jordan Greene
Madison Manczko
Marnie Muñoz
Richard Perrins
Bibiana Snyder
Eden Stratton
Runfeng (Franklin) Wang
Photographers
Ryan Brady
Kayla Breen
Em Burris
Nina Gerzema
Bennett Hense
Arthur Maiorella
Joohee Na
Isaiah Vasquez
James Year
Videographers
Murphy McFarlane
Charles Sirey
Isaiah Vasquez
Illustrators
Elizabeth Coleman
Samantha Mai Currier
Bryanna Hull
Danny Kahn
Ally Manziano
Khanh Newhill-Leahy
Sofya Mikhaylova