A new program offered by the University of Central Florida aims to help students combat fake news. UCF says the doctorate in Strategic Communication will focus on how to handle the flow of rumors and unreliable information during a crisis.
The program emphasizes the importance of combating fake news not just in politics, but during a crisis like a natural disaster.
“While we are very familiar with fake news in response to communication campaigns, political campaigns," Nicholson School of Communications Director of Graduate Studies Timothy Sellnow said. "There’s an increasing need for people to understand how to recognize and to thwart these efforts to misinform people.”
Sellnow says the deliberate spread of misinformation before hurricanes and wildfires is becoming more common. The doctorate will be available in fall 2019.