Adir Krafman, Manager of Communications and Media Relations for CIJA (Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs) from Toronto, is giving a session at Limmud Winnipeg 2018 on March 11, 2018 entitled "Media bias and Fake News."

Krafman says that "Over the past 20 years the way we consume media has changed" in that it used to be that media was a "one-way channel" (such as when we watched television) but now media is "a two-way street," since in the age of social media "anyone can publish and respond to content. "  

Krafman, who is originally from Hadera, Israel and has a passion about "all things Google", notes that "Facebook has an algorithm for figuring out the content we read. It will show you political content that you agree with, thereby reinforcing your already existing opinions." 

Krafman says his session at Limmud will include an interactive component. The session will examine the way different media outlets cover the same story, which will enable the participants of his session to explore the issue of media bias. " For example we'll look at how the issue of the same UN security council vote is covered by the Times of Israel and AlJazeera," he says.

The workshop will also explore the topic of Fake News. "We'll look at what drives Fake News and how to identify what is Fake News and what isn't," says Krafman, 

"One way to identify fake news articles is to check the by line. Does it sound like a real person? Also, check to see whether the story appears elsewhere. Are there other sources?," Krafman points out.

Krafman says that one thing that drives Fake news is advertising an profit. "Digital ads are on fake news websites and the person who posts the fake news gets advertising money."

Prior to joining the CIJA team, Krafman was the Associate Director for Advocacy and Strategic Communications at Hillel Ontario, where he worked with students from 9 universities to combat antisemitism and anti-Israel activity. Adir is a proud alum of the University of Toronto, where he founded the local Israel on Campus club while pursuing an Honours Bachelor of Science in International Relations and Computer Science.