Paul Cook

Paul Cook is professor of English at Indiana University Kokomo where he teaches writing, rhetoric, and digital media. Since 2017, he has researched “fake news,” mis- and disinformation, and the post-truth era, and is a member of the design team that won the top prize at the 2018 Misinformation Solutions Forum for their award-winning Mind Over Chatter modules. He is also a frequent speaker and workshop leader on an array of topics related to mis- and disinformation, post-truth, and the role higher education might play in mitigating them.

In his forthcoming book, The University in Postdigital Culture: Lies, Literacy, and Language (Lexington Books, 2024), Cook makes the case that the epistemological complexity of the post-digital age demands a meta-disciplinary approach to information and media (not unlike the situation that necessitated the invention of rhetoric some 2,000 years ago). He calls this approach “misinformation studies,” and suggests that institutions of higher education can potentially regain the public’s trust and reinvigorate general education programs by engaging head-on with misinformation across disciplines.