Junck Research Colloquium with Andy Pilny

Friday, September 15, 2017 -
12:00pm to 1:00pm

Freedom Forum Conference Center

About the event

The Junck Colloquium with Andy Pilny will occur on Friday, Sept. 15, in the Freedom Forum Conference Center at noon.

Pilny, a professor from the University of Kentucky Department of Communication, will deliver his keynote, "Computational Approaches to Predicting Fake News."

 

 

Keynote

Andy Pilny, Ph.D.

Professor
Department of Communication, University of Kentucky

Computational Approaches to Predicting Fake News

It goes without saying that intentional, misleading and verifiably false news stories, known better as fake news, have proliferated in liberal democracies like the United States. To detect fake news, several organizations have put out practical suggestions, inviting readers to consider the source, author, date, their own bias, context, satire and third parties.

The current computational approach puts the onus on machines, rather than individuals. It expands upon previous computational approaches by analyzing actual text, rather than backtracking sources. A pilot test revealed that the preliminary algorithm was 80 percent accurate in detecting fake news articles leading up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The algorithm may be practically useful when fake news articles become more sophisticated and harder to detect by traditional individual methods.

About the Junck Colloquium

The Mary Junck Research Colloquium series was formally established in 2007 to nurture an intellectually vibrant climate with both interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary shades, by scheduling scholarly presentations on diverse topics.

The speakers represent various disciplines and units on campus as well as other universities and organizations in the Triangle. The series has been particularly successful in attracting scholars and researchers of national and international renown from within the U.S. and abroad. The series attracts a diverse audience comprising faculty, graduate students and researchers from around the Triangle.

Fall 2017 Junck Colloquium Series:

  • Sept. 15, 2017: Andy Pilny, University of Kentucky
  • Nov. 3, 2017: Matthew Weber, Rutgers University

For more information

For more information, please contact Trevor Bell at trevor.bell@unc.edu