Disinformation and fake news - an online debate
Inspired by the European House of History’s exhibition “Fake for Real: a history of forgery and falsification”, a new series of online debates, “Between truth and trust”, explores key issues in our post-truth era: disinformation and fake news; conspiracy theories; and denial of crimes against humanity.
The first debate focused on “Disinformation and Fake News”: How do biases affect different media and how we are potentially influenced by this? How are facts, different techniques and emotions sometimes blended? How do we find the truth in this labyrinth of information? Is your truth also my truth? Who and what decides what really is the truth?
Many people are sceptical about which institutions or news outlets might tell the truth - is this due to lack of trust in these institutions or do other mechanisms play a role too? What are the consequences of this for our society?
An expert panel, moderated by Paul Salmons, delved into a range of aspects related to disinformation:
Carl Miller, Research Director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM), Demos
Clara Jimenez Cruz, co-founder of Maldita.es, a Spanish non-profit news organization focused on stopping disinformation through fact-checking and data journalism, Maldita.es
Marianna Spring, Specialist reporter covering disinformation and social media, BBC
Guido Gerrichhauzen gave an insight into “Fake (F)or Real”: how the exhibition’s games help understanding of the mechanisms of disinformation.
A Q&A with the panellists invited the online audience to pose questions directly to the experts, and led to a lively discussion.