A panel discussion organised in conjunction with the exhibition Truth That Lies, addressing misinformation, alternative facts, fake news and information manipulation.

Social media sites and search engines are the key ingredients of the change from the manipulative form of propaganda of the past to the prevalence of the Post-truth paradigm of the present. How are words and ideas used to obscure and manipulate? The exhibition and panel discussion look at the different political and cultural strategies that have been used in our Post-truth reality and in our recent history.

Inspired by George Orwell’s prescient novel 1984, the events take the shape of the two agencies in The Ministry of Truth, the propaganda agency of 1984’s dystopian government: the Fiction and the Records Department. The Fiction Department is represented by Truth That Lies, an exhibition exploring a use of language through gesture, manipulation, hate speech, algorithm, propaganda, make-believe or tautology. The Records Department is mirrored in the panel War on Facts.

The events use Orwellian “doublespeak” (a language that obscures) as a metaphor for our times, where misinformation is everywhere and its spread is amplified through technology. The programme researches the development of Post-truth, how it was used in the past, how it affects personal identity, and what the future would look like if things proceed from here.

Speakers in the panel: Emillie V. de Keulenaar, Florian Cramer, Tomislav Medak and Friso Wiersum (moderator)

Join us after the panel for the (free) opening of the exhibition Truth That Lies from 17:00-20:00!