The Rise and Fall of Fake News
The Fritt Ord Foundation and The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters invite the public to a conversation about fake news, fact-checking and public trust, on Tuesday 17 October 2017, 5 p.m., at Uranienborgveien 2.
In 2016, Oxford Dictionaries declared post-truth its international word of the year, and defined it as the state of affairs when “objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” PolitiFact named fake news its 2016 “Lie of the Year”. Since then, the term has lost much of its initial meaning and content in the public debate.
Has the proliferation of fact-checking services strengthened people’s trust in the media? What does effective counter-measures look like? How can fact-checkers and people in general secure accurate information? How do readers, editors, journalists and politicians combat the routinely spreading of false or misleading stories? How to negate confirmation bias, i.e the tendency to search for, interpret, favor and recall information in a way that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs or values?
To discuss these topics, we have invited a panel of national and international experts:
- Tuva Ahlsen lives and attends school in Fredrikstad. She is passionate about new, digital media, and is a member of the advisory board of the Norwegian Safer Internet Centre, an organization under The Norwegian Media Authority. She is the national coordinator for the centre’s work on safer digital spaces for children and youth.
- Gunn Enli is professor of media studies at the Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo. She teaches and does research in the fields of media policy, political communication, participatory media, and mediated authenticity.
- Michael Patrick Lynch is professor of philosophy at the University of Connecticut, where he directs the Humanities Institute. He is the author or editor of several books, including The Internet of Us.
- George E. Marcus is professor of political science at Williams College. He received his B.A. from Columbia University. His M.A. and PhD. are from Northwestern University. His current research is on the role of emotion in democratic politics.
- Per Søreide Senstad studies international relations and political theory at King´s College London. He is writing his dissertation on how technological disruptions can constitute a challenge to the legitimacy of liberal democracy as a form of government.
Moderator: Kjersti Løken Stavrum
The event is free of charge and open to the public. It is hosted in conjunction with a two-day Academy Symposium on fake news and alternative facts. Read more about this event at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters website.
