"Truthers" Hosted by the NPC Events Team & Newsy

Mar 22 2018

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Mar 22, 2018 at 6:30pm

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Special Event

Online conspiracy movements have relentlessly targeted survivors and family of victims in the wake of almost every recent American mass shooting, from Sandy Hook to Parkland. Newsy's documentary report "Truthers" explores that issue and spotlights a pattern of online harassment that has real-world consequences. Join the National Press Club and Newsy for a screening of "Truthers," followed by a panel discussion among survivors and family who have been targeted by conspiracy movements and a conversation about solutions in both tech and policy.

Panelists:

  • Suzanna Barna is a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. She was in the high school newspaper class at the time of the shooting. In the past few weeks, conspiracy movements have targeted Parkland students with online harassment.

  • Andy Parker is the father of WDBJ7 news correspondent Alison Parker who was shot to death while reporting on live television in Roanoke, Virginia. In the years since, Parker has pushed for gun control initiatives and has been accused of being a "crisis actor" by online conspiracy movements.

  • Adrianna C. Rodriguez is a media attorney and former journalist focused on First Amendment issues. She has experience in defamation and invasion of privacy lawsuits, and her publications have covered issues of cyberbullying. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

  • Abby Ohlheiser covers digital culture for the Washington Post. She runs the Intersect blog, where she writes regularly on how the culture of the Internet has become a regular part of our lives.

  • Liz Wahl reported and produced the documentary report "Truthers" with Newsy. She is a journalist and speaker with expertise in information warfare, cyber espionage and Putin's Russia.

Moderator:

Alison Fitzgerald Kodjak is the Vice President of the National Press Club and former Chair of the Board. She's also a health policy correspondent on NPR's Science Desk. She joined NPR in September 2015 after a nearly two-decade career in print journalism, where she won several awards—including three George Polk Awards—as an economics, finance, and investigative reporter.