United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Open Pedagogy Fellowship
Examining Mis/Disinformation in Today’s Media to Combat Infectious Disease
James Furgol, Montgomery College (Maryland)
Dr. Stephanie Hoon, Pima Community College (Arizona)
Introduction:

2022-2023

Welcome to your role in an international mission. This mission is dedicated to expanding
educational access and championing student empowerment through "open pedagogy." In this
approach, you, as a student, are at the heart of an engaging, collaborative learning environment,
with the freedom to access your educational journey. What is this mission's ultimate goal? To
heighten social justice in our community, promoting the free exchange of knowledge and work.
Under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework, this renewable
assignment paves your path to becoming an agent of change within your community. Prepare to
embark on this transformative journey.
For this work, we will integrate the disciplines of Historical Studies and Business to achieve the
primary goal of responding to SDG #3: Good Health and Well-Being. Within this SDG, we will
focus on the specific targets 3.b and 3.d.
Purpose:
This assignment will help students learn how to identify mis/disinformation on media/social
media sources, which will, in turn, aid them in developing their critical analytical skills. This will
help them identify mis/disinformation in many topics that go well beyond the given assignment's
parameters.
Learning Objectives:
To develop critical analytical and research skills that will aid their success in and outside of the
classroom.
Instructions:
Although information has never been so easily accessible, there are also an extensive number of
sources that distribute misinformation (the unintentional or unknowing spread of false

information) or disinformation (the intentional spread of false information). For this assignment,
you will identify and analyze one media/social media source that is disseminating mis- or
disinformation on an international infectious disease related event that took place any time from
the 2000s to the present.
Acceptable Sources: You may select any media, or social media source that you think is
spreading misinformation or disinformation on an infectious disease. This source can be statesponsored, come from an individual private user, a news agency, organization, etc. (the sky is the
limit). Regardless of whatever source you choose, I strongly recommend taking a screenshot of
your selected source and saving it in a Word document and/or PDF format ASAP.1
Examples of Acceptable Topics: Acceptable topics are purposefully open-ended. The primary
requirement is that your selected source originated any time from 2000s-present, and is connected
to World History/International Relations.
The following are some examples to consider, but are certainly not the only options for this
assignment:
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The Origins of Covid-19
Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccines
Distribution of Covid-19 Vaccines in developing/undeveloped (e.g. COVAX) nation-states
Dangers of Covid-19
Origins of HIV/AIDS
Effectiveness of HIV/AIDS anti-retroviral treatment
Ebola origins/treatment
Zika Virus origins/treatment
Monkeypox origins/treatment

Step 1: Share your selected source and topic under the discussion forum by 11:59 pm on the date.
In no more than 250 words, explain why you chose your topic. Introduce your selected source,
and provide some details on your source’s use of mis- or disinformation.
Some questions to consider answering include: How does your source use false information?
Does it use any data to support its claims? If so, what makes the use of that data questionable?
What makes the source appealing? Who do you think the source is catered towards? (x points)
Step 2: Compile and analyze your research materials by date.
Step 3: Complete and submit your essay by date. (x points)
The paper is broken into the following three parts:
Part 1 Source Summary/Context: The first part of the assignment introduces your topic and
summarizes your source’s contents.

The topic description ought to include the period, location, major players involved, and disease.
For the source summary, sum up the source’s contents, describe the source type (media or social
media), platform (from a news agency, or specific platforms like YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, or
Facebook), who published it (is it state-sponsored, from an individual private user, or a larger
news organization), and whether it is still available. (200-250 words, 1 page)
Part 2 Analytical Section: The second part of the assignment is to analyze your selected source.
Expand upon your answers from Step 1. How does your source use false information? Who is the
targeted audience, and how does the source try to persuade that audience? Does it use any data to
support its claims? If so, what makes the use of that data questionable? What makes the source
appealing?
The following are additional questions: How did you refute this source’s contents? What process
did you use to highlight its fallacies? Which data did you locate that thoroughly rebukes your
source’s use of data? How widespread is this source’s content (has it been shared/reposted
multiple times?)? Have there been any attempts to remove this story? Did they work? (500-750
words, 2-3 pages)
Part 3 Conclusion: Conclusions are often mislabeled as simply summarizing the paper’s primary
points. Instead, they serve as a vital part of the writing process in that they conclude your paper’s
primary points and allow space for follow-up questions.
In your conclusion, expand upon any of the following points: Explain whether you were able to
disprove your selected source’s contents. If not, what else is needed to complete this process?
What checks do you think are needed to prohibit the spread of your source’s contents? What
outstanding questions did you have upon the conclusion of this project? (200-250 words, 1 page)
I encourage you to organize your paper by using subsection titles.
In total, your paper ought to be no more than 1,250 words and 5 pages long (the header, in-text
citations, and bibliography do not count towards the total word count).
Format Requirements:
Students must share a discussion post with their peers and complete an essay in MS Word format.
Research: Along with your textbook, any relevant course material, and your selected source you
must use at least two academic sources and three journalist/social media sources. The academic
sources must come from academic journals or monographs. The three journalist/social media
sources must come from accredited news agencies. I encourage you to select articles from at least
two different news sources (e.g. 2 articles from Al-Jazeera, and 1 article from The Economist).

By this point in the semester, you ought to be comfortable using our college’s library databases.
However, do not hesitate to contact me or any of the reference librarians with any research
questions/challenges you may have.
Citations: For this assignment, you must cite your work. You must tell the reader exactly where
you obtained your information. You may use APA, Chicago, or MLA as long as you are
consistent. For guidelines on MLA citations, review the following website,
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/. Failure to cite your work will result in an
automatic F (this is not negotiable).
Writing: If research is the work of the social sciences and humanities, then writing is the art.
Writing in a clear and organized manner will assist the reader in understanding what you are
saying and following your argument(s). Content is certainly important, but if the reader cannot
understand what you are saying, then it does not matter how much research you put into this
assignment.
This paper is not a copy-and-paste exercise. In other words, the majority of your essay ought to be
paraphrased (written in your own words that is supported by credible sources). Direct quotes
ought to be limited to supporting key points throughout your paper. Simply copying and pasting
large blocks of text from your sources reduces your voice and gives off an impression of laziness.
Assessment Criteria:
The following includes a recommended rubric for this assignment. It is purposefully open-ended,
with points to best suit the course and its assignment requirements.
Recommended Grading Rubric: In total, this assignment is worth x points.
• Posting and sharing your topic with the class – x points
• Providing a clear summary of your selected source – x points
o Providing the context for your selected source’s main topic – x points
• Analyzing your selected source’s contents, origins, and purpose – x points
• Refuting your selected source’s contents using credible information – x points
• Incorporating at least 2 academic and 3 journalist sources in your analysis – x points
• Ending your paper with a reasoned conclusion – x points
• Organization and development – x points
• Grammar and format – x points

Examining Mis/Disinformation in Today’s Media to Combat Infectious Disease is licensed
by James Furgol, Montgomery College (Maryland); Dr. Stephanie Hoon, Pima Community
College (Arizona) under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA)