Pitt Cyber announced today that it is receiving a $100,000 grant from The Heinz Endowments to support its Pitt Disinformation Lab (PDL) in building resources and research to strengthen the information resilience of our communities in southwestern Pennsylvania.
PDL, established at Pitt Cyber in 2021, seeks to strengthen trustworthy information ecosystems across the region. With support from The Heinz Endowments, this effort will allow the development of practical resources for stewards of information in an increasingly challenging information environment. The effort will also provide support for research enabling an increased understanding of how local residents’ information habits and trust are fluctuating.
“Support from The Heinz Endowments helps PDL continue its critical work building trust in trustworthy information sources and institutions in our region,” said David Hickton, Founding Director of Pitt Cyber. “Fostering the capacity of and use in trustworthy information ecosystems is essential to our democracy, particularly in an election year, when the stakes of disinformation are amplified and our community resilience can be put to the test.”
The Heinz Endowments seeks to help our region thrive as a whole and just community and, through that work, to model solutions to major national and global challenges. The Endowments are devoted to advancing a vision of southwestern Pennsylvania as a vibrant center of creativity, learning, and social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The work is supported by reliable data based on equitable, results-focused goals to cultivate a world where all are treated with fairness and respect and have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential.