Adam Levin, Heather McDowell give new funding for Certificate in News Literacy

The University of Georgia’s Certificate in News Literacy has received a new seed gift to help fund the program’s expansion.

Adam Levin and his wife Heather McDowell provided the new funding through the McDowell-Levin Charitable Giving Fund to support the campus-wide certificate program operated by the Grady College’s Cox Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management and Leadership.

“When I grew up, the distinction between facts, opinions, points of view and outright fabrications was clear. However, the current landscape presents a constant barrage of information from countless sources, making it challenging to differentiate between credible information and misleading content,” Levin said. “Developing the ability to navigate this influx of data and identify reliable sources is crucial in today’s world and essential to the preservation of democracy.”

The Certificate in News Literacy launched in Fall 2022 and currently has 143 students enrolled from more than 30 majors.

“The news media landscape changes frequently, and we must stay on top of it in order to help train our students in news literacy in the best ways possible,” said Kyser Lough, director of the certificate. “Gifts like this go a long way in ensuring we can do that.” Lough, a journalism professor who teaches courses in the certificate, was named its director in September 2024.

UGA’s certificate is the only one of its kind in the news literacy field that is open to all students across all majors. It has been at the forefront of presenting news literacy training in innovative ways, including a “hackathon” each semester that engages students in simulations and other experiential tasks that ask them to apply their knowledge of information disorder.

Levin’s new gift is a continuation of the support he began with the hackathon. Now known as “What the Hackathon,” the event is sponsored by Levin’s “What the Hack” podcast, an award-winning show that addresses issues with cyber security and disinformation. Levin has also provided funding to create the Cox Institute’s Levin Leaders program, a leadership education initiative for selected journalism students.

Keith Herndon, executive director of the Cox Institute, said Levin’s new seed gift will create ways for the certificate to expand by providing for additional faculty resources and new online training tools.

“When the Grady College approached me to support the Cox Institute’s ground-breaking Certificate in News Literacy program to help students discern between information, misinformation and disinformation, they had me at ‘Hello,’” Levin said. “As with the Levin Leaders program and the What The Hackathon, Heather and I are honored to support this noble cause and encourage others to do the same.”

Levin is a nationally recognized expert on cybersecurity, privacy, identity theft, fraud and personal finance. He was chairman and founder of CyberScout and was co-founder of Credit.com. In addition to hosting the “What the Hack” podcast, Levin is the author of the book, “Swiped: How to Protect Yourself in a World Full of Scammers, Phishers, and Identity Thieves.”

Contact: Keith Herndon, klhern@uga.edu