Hacks Hackers

THE MISSION OF HACKS/HACKERS INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING: A. TO FOSTER, ENCOURAGE AND PROMOTE THE EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, LITERARY AND CHARITABLE PURPOSES OF HACKS/HACKERS; B. TO PROMOTE PHILANTHROPY IN SUPPORT OF HACKS/HACKERS; C. TO PROVIDE FIDUCIARY OVERSIGHT AS TO THE INVESTMENT OF ASSETS MANAGED FOR HACKS/HACKERS; D. TO APPROVE HACKS/HACKERS' ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET; E. TO CREATE A NETWORK OF JOURNALISTS AND TECHNOLOGISTS WHO RETHINK THE FUTURE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION AND SPREAD KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION AND IDEAS TO THAT NETWORK; F. TO CREATE A DIGITAL COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE WHO SEEK TO INSPIRE EACH OTHER, SHARE INFORMATION AND COLLABORATE TO INVENT THE FUTURE OF MEDIA AND JOURNALISM; G. TO ENGAGE IN AND CARRY ON ANY OTHER ACTIVITY IN ANY MANNER CONNECTED WITH OR INCIDENTAL TO, OR CALCULATED TO PROMOTE, ASSIST, AID OR ACCOMPLISH ANY OF THE AFORESAID ABOVE.

NEWSQ - NEWSQ IS AN INITIATIVE OF THE TOW-KNIGHT CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNALIST DRIVEN BY HACKS/HACKERS THAT WORKS WITH THE CRAIG NEWMARK GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM. NEWSQ SEEKS TO ELEVATE QUALITY JOURNALISM WHERE ALGORITHMS RANK AND RECOMMEND NEWS ARTICLES ONLINE. WE APPROACH THIS PROBLEM BY ENGAGING IN DESIGN THINKING ACTIVITIES IN COLLABORATION WITH TECHNOLOGY, JOURNALISM, ACADEMIA AND OTHER COMMUNITIES. THROUGH OUR PARTICIPATORY APPROACH, WE HOPE TO PROMOTE CONSTRUCTIVE STEPS TOWARDS SOLUTIONS THAT DRIVE FINANCIAL SUPPORT TOWARDS QUALITY NEWS AND AWAY FROM DISINFORMATION AND MISINFORMATION. THIS PAST YEAR, WE WORKED WITH A COHORT OF 16 JOURNALISTS AND PLATFORM TECHNOLOGISTS TO PRODUCE TWO WHITEPAPERS ON THE TOPIC OF NEWS RANKING ALGORITHMS. THIS WORK WAS REPORTED IN TWO PRESENTATION VENUES AMONG 1) JOURNALISTS (AT LAST YEAR'S ISOJ EVENT WITH 5,000 ATTENDEES) AND 2) 40 MEDIA INTEGRITY AND AI EXPERTS. PANEL RELATED RESULTS ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO APPEAR IN AN ACADEMIC JOURNAL IN 2022. IN ADDITION, WE SUPPORTED CLOSED DOOR DISCUSSIONS ON CRITICAL TOPICS OF LOCAL JOURNALISM AND VACCINE REPORTING IN COLLABORATION WITH THE NIEMAN FOUNDATION FOR JOURNALISM AT HARVARD, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION'S VACCINE SAFETY NET, THE SCILINE PROGRAM AND THE AMERICAN ACADEMY FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, AND MUCKROCK FOUNDATION.

REALITY TEAM - REALITY TEAM USES WIDELY AVAILABLE TOOLS TO MAKE IT HARDER FOR DISINFORMATION TO MANIPULATE PEOPLE. IN 2021, WE REACHED NEARLY 3 MILLION HEAVY SOCIAL MEDIA USERS WHO RARELY SEE NEWS OR OTHER CREDIBLE INFORMATION. OUR CAMPAIGNS COVERED ELECTION INTEGRITY, COVID/VACCINES AND CLIMATE CHANGE. CAMPAIGN METRICS SHOW VERY STRONG INTEREST IN THE CONTENT. WE WORKED WITH ACADEMICS FROM THE YALE CENTER FOR CLIMATE COMMUNICATIONS TO DEVELOP A METHOD TO RUN RANDOMIZED CONTROL TESTS ENTIRELY ON INSTAGRAM, AND FOUND 30-40% BOOST IN FACTUAL KNOWLEDGE 1-3 DAYS POST EXPOSURE TO CLIMATE AND VACCINE INFORMATION AND 17-32% SHIFT IN OPINIONS 7-18 DAYS POST EXPOSURE. EARLY RESULTS ALSO SUGGEST THAT WE CAN DRIVE AN AUDIENCE WITH LOW VOTER PARTICIPATION TO REGISTER TO VOTE. OUR CAMPAIGNS AIM TO SHARE CREDIBLE INFO IN A WAY THAT MAKES THEM FEEL SMART AND CONFIDENT, AND EQUIPS THEM TO GET BETTER AT IDENTIFYING AND RESISTING MANIPULATIVE CONTENT.

TRUTH AND TRUST ONLINE - THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON TRUTH AND TRUST ONLINE (TTO) BRINGS TOGETHER ALL PARTIES WORKING ON AUTOMATED APPROACHES TO AUGMENT MANUAL EFFORTS ON IMPROVING THE TRUTHFULNESS AND TRUSTWORTHINESS OF ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS. TTO IS AN ANNUAL FORUM FOR ACADEMIA, INDUSTRY, NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO MEET AND DISCUSS THE PROBLEMS FACING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS TO THEM. IN 2021, THE CONFERENCE HAD OVER 300 ATTENDEES FROM 51 COUNTRIES, WITH 81% OF ATTENDEES BEING FIRST TIME PARTICIPANTS. THE CONFERENCE INCLUDED KEYNOTE TALKS, LIVE PANELS, AND AN INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP, AS WELL AS 22 PRESENTATIONS.

GENERAL PROGRAMS