Join Us In Person

Join us for an evening conversation with Prof. Lee Huebner of The George Washington University in the historic drawing room at the President Woodrow Wilson House Museum.

The term “Fake News” has exploded in the public consciousness in recent years, but the concept it describes is not new. It was just a little more than a century ago that the term “propaganda” first came into popular usage—and one of its early analysts was Woodrow Wilson. Then, as now, the idea that "Public Information" and "Misinformation" could shape and even distort the “consent of the governed” was viewed as putting democracy itself at serious risk. In the past and present, people worry about living in a “Post Truth” society and struggle to cope with it.

Why this discussion developed as it did—and how influential leaders, like Woodrow Wilson, responded to it—will be the focus of a talk at the Wilson House led by Prof. Lee Huebner, author of the recent book called "The Fake News Panic of a Century ago: The Discovery of Propaganda and the Coercion of Consent." Woodrow Wilson House Advisory Council member, Ambassador Joel Danies will moderate the Q&A.

Prof. Lee Huebner is the Airlie Professor of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University. For many years, he was the Publisher and CEO of the International Herald Tribune newspaper. He was a Special Assistant to the President in the Nixon White House and is a longtime Trustee of American University of Paris. He earned his PH.D. in History from Harvard University and his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University (where he later taught).

Duration

Program is 60 minutes | Doors open at 6pm

Admission

$15 per person
Registration required - Limited seating.