Author: Joanne Dera

On April 1, librarians at Dana Library hosted The Erosion of Truth: How to Protect Yourself from Mis/Disinformation in the Age of AI, a hybrid virtual/in-person workshop. Mis- and disinformation in society’s information landscape is not new; however, the proliferation of generative artificial intelligence has compounded its impact on individuals, society, and our democracy. This workshop introduced foundational information literacy strategies for critically evaluating news and media content, along with available online tools to support this work. Students, faculty, and staff explored the rapid development of AI-generated deepfake videos, manipulated images, and viral misinformation, and tested their ability to distinguish between AI-generated and authentic content. Attendees were also introduced to real-world examples and professional fact-checking techniques, leaving with a personal toolkit for verifying information. 

The highlight of the workshop was a Q&A session with New York Times technology journalist Tiffany Hsu, who specializes in misinformation reporting. Hsu fielded questions on topics including how New York Times reporters verify images and video, the challenges posed by AI-generated content to investigative journalism’s ability to establish credibility and truth, and the role that social media platforms play in the spread of misinformation. Participants enthusiastically expressed appreciation for her insights into these critical issues. 

We hope to continue this discussion as technologies used to fabricate, manipulate, and mislead grow increasingly sophisticated, with the library planning additional workshops and learning opportunities to strengthen our community’s information resilience in the age of generative AI. 

Co-Organizers of the event: Joanne Dera, Diane Biunno, and Naomi Gold 

On March 4, Dana Library hosted a Wikidata mini edit-a-thon focused on Women in STEM in collaboration with librarians from NJIT. The event brought together 13 participants ranging from beginner to advanced contributors, including students, librarians, and experienced Wikipedians. Attendees represented Drew University, NJIT, Smith Library, and Dana Library, along with members of the regional Wikimedia community. We were especially fortunate to have leadership from Wikipedia NYC and the Philadelphia Wikisalon in attendance. Their expertise was invaluable in supporting participants who were new to Wikidata and helping guide the editing process throughout the session. 

During the edit-a-thon, participants expanded and strengthened approximately 30 Wikidata entries related to Rutgers and NJIT graduates. Contributors added new data points, improved existing information, and incorporated reliable references to support the entries. Participants also drew on Rutgers University Libraries and NJIT Libraries resources to enhance the records, demonstrating how library collections and research materials can be used to improve structured data and increase the visibility of our libraries’ collections and resources. 

In addition to the hands-on editing work, participants learned what Wikidata is, how it functions as structured linked data, and why contributing to it matters. The session highlighted how improving data about women in STEM helps make their contributions more visible and discoverable. Because major platforms, such as Google, and large generative language models, such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini, draw on Wikipedia and Wikidata, expanding these records helps broaden public knowledge and address systemic gaps and biases in how women’s achievements are represented online and in AI-driven systems. 

The event was a strong success and demonstrated significant growth potential. As a result, we are now in conversations with Wikipedia NYC and NJIT about organizing additional events and expanding this collaboration. With greater support from the Wikimedia community, future edit-a-thons could scale to larger participation and further leverage Rutgers and NJIT library collections to enrich Wikidata entries, both strengthening the global knowledge graph and helping drive researchers and readers back to our library resources and collections. 

Co-organizers of the event:
Dana Library Team: Joanne Dera, Diane Biunno, and Angela Lawrence
NJIT Libraries Team: Bob Vietrogoski and Jill Lagerstrom