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Activities include an interactive exhibit, media literacy workshops and a press freedom discussion featuring veteran broadcast anchor Chris Wallace
False headlines on social media. Altered images. A flood of conflicting stories. How did we get here—and how do we make sense of what we see now?
This June and July, DC Public Library will host a multiday public series in partnership with the nonprofit Poynter Institute, a global leader in journalism. At the center of the series is a traveling exhibit tracing the history of American journalism—from colonial print to AI-generated news. Additional programs include a panel discussion with distinguished journalists, hands-on media literacy workshops and a rooftop escape room designed by fact-checkers.
Each session is designed to answer one urgent question: How do I know what's real?
A 2025 Pew Research Center study found that nearly half of U.S. adults avoid the news at least some of the time. Many said it feels overwhelming or hard to trust. What people say they want instead is not more content, but better tools to judge the credibility of what they see.
"This initiative is about helping people think critically about the information they see every day—while giving them techniques they can use to navigate their information ecosystem," said Brittani Kollar, Deputy Director of MediaWise. "We are thrilled to bring our event series to the DC Public Library in celebration of Poynter's 50th anniversary, this especially at a time when press freedoms are under threat — it is crucial to have meaningful conversations about those challenges."
"Library staff regularly help people make sense of the information they encounter; whether that's figuring out what's real, what's biased or what's missing," said Chelsea Kirkland, Digital Inclusion Coordinator at DC Public Library. "Partnering with Poynter on this series builds on work to help people grow their media literacy skills and build confidence in what they see and share. It's also about connection because people are more likely to question misinformation when they talk with others they trust, and the Library is an ideal space for these conversations to happen."
The anchor for the series is "Moments of Truth: An Exploration of Journalism's Past, Present, and Future", a pop-up exhibit created by The Poynter Institute's MediaWise initiative. The exhibit is made up of 10 panels, with smaller sets rotating through five neighborhood libraries: Bellevue, Northeast, Woodridge and Palisades, before coming together in full at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library on July 2. Visitors move through key moments in journalism's evolution interacting with historical artifacts, testing digital verification tools and reflecting on how media has shaped public understanding across generations.
The exhibit is supported by a series of public events. In "Scroll Smarter," participants practice checking online claims, tracing sources and identifying signs of manipulation in digital content. "Navigating Mis- and Disinformation 101" introduces everyday fact-checking skills, from reverse image searches to strategies for talking with someone who's shared false information.
"Operation: Is This Legit?" takes the form of a rooftop escape room, where teams race to employ the same verification tactics used in real newsrooms to determine whether a sample story they are given is true.
The series concludes with a moderated panel discussion about the challenges press freedom is facing and the future of journalism. Joining the panel discussion will be Chris Wallace, the award-winning broadcast journalist whose past roles include CNN, Fox News and NBC, Tia Mitchell, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Washington D.C. Bureau Chief, and Lori Montenegro, Noticias Telemundo's Washington D.C. Bureau Chief. The panel will be moderated by Poynter's President, Neil Brown. The event includes an audience Q&A.
DC Public Library is hosting the series to equip residents with the skills to navigate a complex information environment. The Poynter Institute, a nonprofit devoted to strengthening the practice, ethics and value of journalism, is known for its fact-checking work through PolitiFact and for creating MediaWise, a media literacy initiative that empowers individuals to responsibly engage with online content in the age of information overload. Poynter's role in the program is based on its experience training both journalists and the public. MediaWise has reached more than 143 million people globally with tools and techniques for evaluating digital content and spotting false claims.
Events will be held at neighborhood libraries between June 25 and July 2. For dates, times, and locations, click here.