Military Veterans in Journalism has strengthened its counter-disinformation program with the addition of two new team members, Hugh Harsono and Carla O. Their wealth of experience and expertise will be instrumental in enhancing our efforts to combat disinformation and ensure accurate information is accessible to the military and veteran community. We are confident that their contributions will play a significant role in achieving our program’s goals and continuing to protect our community from harmful narratives perpetuated by extremist groups.
MVJ’s counter-disinformation program is dedicated to countering disinformation efforts in the military and veteran community. The program works to provide non-partisan investigative reporting, analysis, and research to help combat disinformation campaigns.
Carla O, a former combat correspondent and news director for the U.S. Marine Corps, joins the program as the counter-disinformation marketing manager. With a focus on social media, O will engage the online military and veteran community around information that counters extremist propaganda in this new role. She holds a Bachelor of Science in public policy and a minor in writing from Oregon State University and is a distinguished honor graduate of the Defense Information School.
“I’m excited to be part of this critical program to combat disinformation and promote media literacy. As journalists, we know how crucial it is to provide accurate and reliable information to the public, but our work fundamentally relies upon the public’s ability to recognize and access it,” said O. “With the rise of disinformation and misinformation, it’s more important than ever to equip people with the skills and knowledge necessary to navigate these issues.”
Hugh Harsono is a military veteran journalist who has reported on national security issues, cyber warfare and disinformation campaigns. He has worked at outlets including CNBC and Forbes, and has written for the Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press and other publications. Harsono’s experience and insights as this project’s strategy consultant will be invaluable as we work to combat the spread of disinformation.
Together, Harsono and O will work to monitor and analyze online disinformation campaigns, develop effective counter-messaging strategies, and provide valuable insights to our community.
“We are thrilled to welcome Hugh and Carla to the Counter-Disinformation Program team,” said Zack Baddorf, executive director of Military Veterans in Journalism. “This is a huge challenge to tackle, and we’re confident they will bring the skills and drive to tackle it.”
While this program currently has funding for 18 months, MVJ is seeking support from other funders to extend this effort. If you are interested in supporting our efforts to combat disinformation and extremism in the military and veteran communities through this program, please email [email protected].
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Knight Foundation, Craig Newmark Philanthropies and the MacArthur Foundation for generously supporting our counter-disinformation program, enabling us to expand our team and increase our impact. Their dedication to promoting truth and combating disinformation is critical to the health of our democracy.
(Note: Carla O is a full name and has not been abbreviated.)
