Fake News
Jeroen van Loon
In today’s society, driven as it is by social media, the boundary between truth and fiction is sometimes hard to draw. What is the truth, and what are our own interpretations? At Betweter, IMPAKT will present Jeroen van Loon’s installation Fake News (2021). This three-part video installation shows Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s full hearing before the US Senate on 10 April 2018. Following a serious leak of Facebook users’ personal data, Zuckerberg was suspected of reselling sensitive information. Among the issues raised at the hearing were Facebook users’ privacy and prevention of the spread of fake news.
Jeroen van Loon’s video includes face filters that are also often used in apps such as Snapchat and Instagram to add a layer of augmented reality to selfie pictures or videos. Depending on the context in which it is used, each filter may have a variety of meanings. We see Mark Zuckerberg hiding behind sunglasses and holding a burning dollar bill. A moment later he has turned into a Western-movie baddie.
Fake News uses face filters as a visual criticism of Zuckerberg’s and the Senate committee’s views on fake news, Facebook users’ privacy and the possible future regulation of Facebook. It provides a more honest picture of the shifting balance of power between Big Tech and government.
Fake News has been generously funded by the KF Hein Fund and IMPAKT.
