Faces of UWM: The Filmmaker

Joshua Velazquez has a passion for creating fantasy art and film, a product of his background, aspirations and core identity.

High School Teachers Help Students Spot Misinformation

Whitefish Bay High School educators Anna Gibson, Hannah Peterson and Dave Johnson welcome controversial topics in their classrooms, helping students identify what’s really “fake news.” You’re listening to a Media Milwaukee podcast. I’m Callie Donavan. I was a senior in high school in 2016 and 2017. Peers of mine were talking about La La Land’s […]

“If nothing is done about it, we are just hurting ourselves and nobody else.”

Luis Barrientos has been a health care worker for a decade and has heard many examples of misinformation in his field. From ditching prescribed medicines in favor of home remedies to refusing vaccines, there are many cases of misinformation he finds frustrating. Luis reflects on his experiences with misinformation and the dangerous impact it can […]

“I never wanted to leave the classroom.”

Hannah Severson is a third-grade teacher from the Madison Metropolitan School District. After teaching for five years, she made the difficult decision in 2022 to step away from her classroom. Brooke Curry: To start, tell us a little bit about your educational background and what led you to teaching. Hannah Severson: I graduated from UW-Madison […]

“Misinformation happens. It’s unavoidable. But it’s better than people not being informed at all.”

Alex Kane is a 23-year-old graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who has a minor in Russian. He recently moved to Germany to attend graduate school, and when Russia’s so-called “special operation” in Ukraine started in early 2022, he was able to see how his friends from Ukraine and Russia were affected by misinformation, while […]

“The media jumps to conclusions. Police officers go to a scene and they react to what is going on at the scene. They’re not reacting to race.”

Michael Blackstad, 51, is a former police officer from the Downey Police Department in Downey, California. He was on the force from 1997-2005, until he was medically retired due to a car accident on the job. Michael now lives in Fond du Lac, Wis. with his family and works as a produce manager at the […]

“Some people would say this, and some people would say that, and the hospital protocols were always changing.”

Micaela Arellano, 24, is a graduate student from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh certified as a nursing assistant and working towards her masters in anesthesiology. She graduated in May 2020 a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic began and was working in the hospital as the pandemic approached. Arellano found that the pandemic created challenges along […]

“The military’s very strongly put into effect, from leadership down, to only trust the words of your high command and not your fellow soldiers on the line.”

Among the institutions that face the greatest threat from misinformation, the United States military may be the most significant. While misinformation in national politics may lead to polarization and awkward Thanksgiving conversations, when it comes to national security, having the right information is often a matter of life or death. To better understand how the […]

“The hardest thing for us was that there were things that the President himself would say and do that weren’t credible.”

Edward Hartwig, former Deputy Administrator of the United States Digital Service, talks with Emily Walter about the effects of misinformation in government. Emily Walter: Start by telling me your name and the title you had when Covid started. Edward Hartwig: My name is Edward Hartwig and the title of my job when covid first started […]