Abstract
As more people turn to online sources for news and information, it is important to have the necessary skills to distinguish between objective facts and opinions and misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation (MDM). The Homeland Security Program at Eastern Kentucky University is addressing these concerns through MDM instruction and student research. The program developed a core MDM course that features a qualitative observational social media project. Student reviews indicate that topical instruction coupled with the social media research project effectively increases student understanding and identification of MDM. The research application component of the course illustrates the importance of applied research in conjunction with topical learning, which results in deep learning.