Glenn Kessler, editor and chief writer for The Washington Post’s “Fact Checker” visited McLean on Friday. The Combating Misinformation Lab hosted the event, which mainly included a Q&A with Kessler.

“I learned…how [great] of an impact social media has on our older generation and older voters,” senior Atticus Gore said. “As a community member I can ensure those that I interact with have proper information provided by sources.”

Kessler emphasized the prevalence of misinformation, noting that both former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden have made numerous misleading and false statements. He also noted that younger people have a role to play in preventing misinformation among older generations.

“We have more information but people [that] are less knowledgeable…don’t have the skills to sort through it all,” Kessler said.

Many of those who attended felt empowered, partially because of Kessler’s notoriety in politics and his ability to convey information to less experienced audiences.

“I really enjoyed seeing the engagement among the student body interacting with such a notable member of the journalism community,” Gore said.

In addition to helping older generations, Kessler also gave students a reliable way to stop false information from spreading in friends groups and online.

“If you know someone…spreading misinformation you should call them out, say this isn’t right, and provide them with a counter to it,” Kessler said.