DISINFORMATION WARRIOR

A conversation with artist Kyle Hinton can be like a cosmic adventure into the multiverse. His deep booming voice vaults from philosophy to cryptocurrency, Augusto Boal to Pokémon Go. By turns seriously earnest and gleefully joyful, Kyle’s infectious curiosity expresses itself through a multifaceted arts and technology practice.

Kyle’s philosophical mind and mad programming skills were called to action this spring as Project Architect of CAOS’s online course and website DISINFORMATION WARRIORS.

Kyle, joined by facilitator Brooke Leifso, project leader Xstine Cook, writers Holly Dupej, Laurie Montemurro, David Whitton, Tyler Craig, Sam Swaim, Mabyn Dueck, Susan Hagan, and Bernard Gregorio, discussed the topic of disinformation in a series of Zoom “writing salons.” Fellow Oscil8 collective member Leif Olson brought his statistician mind to the mix, while educator Tomas Hoyer-Wood, and animator Theresa Pinhey shaped the material into a fun, engaging online course. Guest instructor Mooky Cornish even Zoomed in with some comedy advice. All the while Kyle was developing a rad website from the ground up to make the project materials publicly available.

“It’s more important than ever for teens to be engaged with philosophy, media literacy and science literacy. Keep asking questions! Make sharper decisions about what you decide is true,” says Kyle

The 8-week pilot course was designed for folks age 13-17. Participants learned about motivations behind trending information, and how disinformation can insidiously undermine the world as we know it. They also learned how to create their own animated gifs, cartoons, and memes to help educate their peers on the dangers of disinformation, with a focus on Covid-19.

“I love Disinformation Warriors because of how it educates teens about verifying truth online, and how they get to create their own content about this kind of detective work. That's what art is about, at its foundation; finding a truth and expressing it,” says Kyle.

Next stop in Kyle’s multiverse is deploying DISINFORMATION WARRIORS in schools. Check out completed cartoons on DISINFORMATIONWARRIORS.ca website, and in Telus Spark Science Centre’s animation exhibit.  The pilot program was possible thanks to funding from the Canadian Heritage’s Digital Citizen Initiative.