Truth-Telling in a Fake News World

EXPLORE BIG BRUE FESTIVAL

What happens when the problem is no longer simply false stories, but the erosion of any shared sense of reality?

In an information system shaped by algorithms, political propaganda, artificial intelligence and an unrelenting competition for attention, facts are increasingly contested and our trust in journalism has fractured. Meanwhile, “fake news” has become both a genuine threat and a weapon used to dismiss the reporting of opinions that people would rather not hear.

James Harding and Freddie Sayers examine how journalism should respond. Can fact-checking keep pace with industrial-scale misinformation? How should news organisations establish credibility without demanding blind trust? And can slower, more transparent and more inquisitive journalism help rebuild the common ground on which public debate and democracy depend?