In the furious debates surrounding the UK Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump…

…claims and counterclaims of fake news, questionable experts, and untrustworthy media have been flying around. Deep political divides are not new, but recent events have illustrated that the manipulation of facts and the difficulty of discerning legitimate sources of evidence is a significant threat to liberal democracies. Fake news once meant the maligned spreading of misinformation, but is now an accusation directed at authoritative news sources. In fact, the loss of trust and corruption public knowledge has been a deliberate political tactic designed to spur discontent and promote the interests of certain political platforms. In this context, it is crucial to bring together foundational discussions of truth, democracy, trust, and polarization.

This conference will bring together renowned scholars to discuss two broad themes:
“Truth and Bias in Images” (Nov 28)
“Truth, Propaganda, and Public Discourse” (Nov 29)

Day 1: Truth and Bias in Images

11.15am  - 12pm – Coffee on arrival

12pm  - 12.15pm – Introduction

12:15pm - 1.30pm – Feeling in seeing is believing : embodiment and the (perceived) realness of visual politics 
Manos Tsakiris (Warburg Institute)

1.30pm - 2.30pm – Lunch

2.30pm - 3.45pm – Memes and Monsters 
Ophelia Deroy (LMU and Institute of Philosophy)

3.45pm - 4.15pm – Tea and Coffee

4.15pm - 5.30pm – Deepfakes and Deceptive Signalling 
Don Fallis (Northeastern University)

6pm - 7.30pm –   Public Lecture: The Know-it-All Society 
Michael Lynch (Connecticut) 

Day 2: Truth, Propaganda and Public Discourse

9.30am - 10.30am – Belief polarization in the post-truth era 
Asa Wikfross (Stockholm) 

10:30am - 11am – Tea and Coffee

11am - 12pm – Contempt for Truth 
Michael Lynch (Connecticut) 

12pm - 1pm – The Future Arrived First in Russia 
Peter Pomerantsev  (LSE) 

1pm - 2pm – Lunch

2pm - 3pm –  The Question of American Fascism: 1920-2020 
Sarah Churchwell (SAS, University of London)

3pm - 4pm –The Bullshit Industry 
Quassim Cassam (Warwick)

4pm - 4:30pm – Coffee

4:30pm - 6:00pm – Public Lecture: How Fascism Works 
Jason Stanley  (Yale)
Author of How Propaganda Works and How Fascism Works

6:15pm - 7:30pm – Panel Discussion: Michael Lynch, Jason Stanley, Quassim Cassam, Sarah Churchwell, Asa Wikforss, Peter Pomerantsev

7.30 – Drinks Reception.