Chris Baraniuk, technology reporter for BBC, wrote that Facebook has observed propaganda efforts by foreign governments. Facebook has seen false news, disinformation or fake accounts on their platform and has removed tens of thousands of them from around the world. The amount of people getting their news from online social media websites is 62%, according to Pew Research Center. Facebook has been very public and forthcoming about these issues and their efforts to combat the spread of fake news and propaganda. They are creating artificial intelligence systems to create a faster response to false information or spam. I believe that these efforts have not done enough to combat the issue.

It was exactly one week ago that students at the University of Illinois woke up to the news that a fellow student had committed suicide the night before. The Daily Illini was one of the first outlets to break the news and shortly after, campus was stirring. This day also happened to be when the Senior leadership at the University of Illinois was holding a state of the University address and Open Forum in the Union. The room was packed with professors and faculty, but hardly any students. The main items on the agenda were the ever prevalent budget crisis and advancing diversity and inclusion initiatives on campus. I went to the event with a friend and throughout the course of the meeting we could not believe some of the things we heard. Towards the end of the meeting they asked for questions, and my friend and I were very interested in hearing what University of Illinois leadership had to say about the status of mental health resources on campus. Renee Romano, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, proceeded to talk about how the Counseling Center on campus has wonderful resources and outreach services. The response to my friend’s question showed was less than satisfying for the both of us. Luckily, the event ended shortly after and we could leave to talk and compare thoughts on how the University was handling the situation.

The Chicago Fire Department has paid out nearly $92 million in discrimination charges since 2008.

Jared Rutecki of the Better Government Association, a Chicago based investigative journalism firm, explained that the Chicago Fire Department has come under fire in recent years from lawsuits brought on by African American females who claim that the CFD puts physical tests in place to deter females from joining the force. The CFD has less females working for its force than the national average, but when you factor in paramedics and ambulance personnel they are right on par with the national average. He further explains that under Rahm Emmanuel, the city has settled and paid out the majority of these lawsuits.

I believe the Better Government Association is a great resource for all Chicagoans to take stay educated on the government and operations of our city. We need investigative journalists like these to shed light on the corruption and unfairness that runs deep through the different agencies of Chicago.

Data from public records requests | Jared Rutecki, BGA

I arrived at the Diversity Fest at the Illini Union a little bit after 7pm on Sunday, April 9th. A student took the stage shortly after my arrival and began singing his original composition “New Horizons”. The artist, Cedric, described the song as moving out of a negative place in your life and into a positive one. The message of this song fit the theme of the event very well. It was the first time I had attended an event like this one in the Union. There was a sizable crowd of people gathered around to listen to the music. The lights were turned off in the Courtyard Cafe which gave the room a more relaxed vibe. I think the event could have been developed and publicized a lot more to bring out a larger crowd of students.

Cedric, performing his original composition “New Horizons”

Poster positioned outside of the Courtyard Cafe while the event was going on.

New York Times Reporter Adam Liptak published an article exploring how libel is affecting the Trump administration.

Donald Trump has been waging a war against journalists from some of the nation’s largest and most respected news outlets, including the New York Times. Personally, I believe that his constant attacks against these news outlets is harming his administration’s credibility and the system of democracy in the United States. In a recent Tweet, Trump described his unhappiness with how he is being portrayed by the news media and said that he would like to “change libel laws”. Liptak explained that libel laws are controlled by the states, meaning that state legislators are the only ones that can change them. Additionally, a precedent was set in the Supreme Court Case New York Times v. Sullivan that required public figures to prove that there was actual malice. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan wrote that debate may include unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials but this would not be considered libel because of the need to have uninhibited, robust and wide open debates. Libel laws will not be able to change without the Supreme Court overruling the case that set the precedent.