University of Washington researchers outline misinformation, deepfake work for State Government & Tribal Relations Committee

The University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public told the House State Government & Tribal Relations Committee that it studies how information flows online and translates that research into education and policy support.

Emma Spiro, associate professor and faculty director of the Center for an Informed Public, told the committee the center was formed in February 2019 as a partnership among the University of Washington Information School, the School of Law and the Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering, and later expanded partnerships with Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication to reach communities statewide. "We are not a fact checking organization," Spiro said, emphasizing scope limits and that the center is a nonpartisan research center funded by private foundations, federal grants and individual donations.

The center’s work spans elections, public health and other domains. Jevin West, professor at the University of Washington, said the center focuses on information integrity, attention dynamics on platforms and the social impacts of misinformation. "We were a part of the group that tried to come up with some policy to deal with deepfakes," West said, describing work that informed state law in multiple states and mentioning that the center’s materials are used by the Washington Supreme Court, the Secretary of State and county auditors.

The presenters described a mix of methods—qualitative, computational and emerging AI approaches—and said a major part of the center’s mission is public education. West described outreach programs ranging from high school “MissInfo Day” events to media-mentorship programs where students teach older adults about online information. The center also develops educational tools and games to illustrate synthetic-media risks.

Committee members asked about funding and whether the center faces targeted harassment. Spiro said the center’s largest private supporters include the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, while major federal support comes through the National Science Foundation; she said roughly 40% of funding comes from private philanthropic sources and 40% from federal competitive research awards. When Representative Walsh raised whether the center was perceived as politically biased, Spiro replied the center’s leadership had been subject to harassment and public records requests but characterized that as targeted campaigns against individuals and the center’s research, not merely perception.

The presenters stressed that the center’s work informs both policy deliberations and community-facing education. West said AI is already entwined with the center’s classroom and outreach conversations and noted there are no simple solutions to synthetic-media challenges, but that norm-setting and continued engagement with journalists and policymakers matter. "It's hard to have a class discussion or a meeting discussion without talking about AI," West said.

The committee concluded the presentation with an offer to follow up and thanked the presenters for their briefing.