Through a program led by the Institute of International Education and sponsored by the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP), five (5) journalists and media professionals from Belarus will meet with their journalist counterparts in Detroit to discuss media, public accountability, online privacy, surveillance, and the protection of civil liberties.

The program will have participants examine the rights and responsibilities of a free press in a democracy and the principles and laws governing the press in the United States. Participants will recognize how investigative journalists in the U.S. raise awareness of social concerns and report on abusive actions of government, politicians, criminals or corporations. Ultimately, they will understand the importance of investigative journalism, fact-checking, myth-busting, and specialized polling in countering misleading information and demonstrating the seriousness of disinformation campaigns to domestic publics.