Copy of About
About
"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made." Groucho Marx
Fighting Fake
is a citizen’s initiative that aims to:
- help raise public awareness of the threat to human well-being, social cohesion, democracy and peaceful coexistence posed by lies and disinformation; and
- provide a ‘One Stop Shop’
on mis/disinformation (this website) where teachers, students, researchers, trainee journalists and concerned citizens can find an overview of the issues and how the problems are being tackled.
We also want to encourage people to play their part by taking care to check ‘facts’ before posting on social media, and supporting quality journalism and NGOs and community-based organisations that are engaged directly in fighting fake. Good governance, human flourishing, and peaceful coexistence requires that society / people treasure and revere accurate information and reasoned argument. Society cannot function without trust.
We've Making Progress
Here are some of the things I have done to date to get things underway:
• set up
this website, which explains the threat and identifies a wide range of useful resources suitable for those working in education or civil society.
• identified
hundreds of individuals and organisations that are working to counter disinformation / promote good journalism — currently over 100 initiatives in the UK alone (500+ worldwide);
• identified
thousands of articles on 'fake news', post-truth, information warfare and related topics, and over 300 books and reports; and
• built
a bespoke database enabling us to access this growing body of information and ideas quickly and efficiently.
Outreach
Here are a few notes on the outreach work:
• made presentations
to local humanist groups, and the Conway Hall Ethical Society
and various other local groups — the U3A [University of the Third Age], ProBus
[retired professionals], Positive Money, etc. — and a Media Studies class [more talks are in the pipeline...];
• published an article on fake information in the Ethical Record
[July 2018];
• spoken
on 'fake news' and AI at a Dialogue Session
organised by the European Parliament
[in Mar 2019];[3] and addressed a meeting of the Conference of European Churches
[in Jun 2019] on 'Religion & Fake News';
• set in train
a number of initiatives (which I will report on in due course).Get in Touch
If you would like to be involved in this work in some capacity, please get in touch (here); if you are on Facebook, you might like to 'like' our page. And please tell your friends. I look forward to hearing from you!
Brief Biog
I have spent virtually my entirely professional career working in the non-profit sector, and much of it focused on providing sound, accessible and relevant information. I’ve worked on environment and energy policy, and in adult education and international development.
After graduating in chemistry (from Leeds University) I spent two years studying the sociology of science (at Bath University). I went on to work as an environmental activist (6 yrs with Friends of the Earth) and a freelance consultant (10 yrs writing about/advising on waste management/renewables whilst tutoring T101 and the T362 Summer School with the Open University). I set up and ran a small charity (Powerful Information) for 27 yrs — I was responsible for developing, resourcing and managing well over 100 grassroots community projects in E Europe and W Africa.
Throughout my career I have tried to follow six principles outlined by David Comey,[2] and not least his 2nd: “The key to credibility is accurate information.” I have written a number of books and NGO manuals, and numerous project reports. I should also mention that I am an active member of Humanists UK
and chair of Milton Keynes Humanists. [4]
This background should explain why I was so concerned when ‘fake news’ raised its ugly head, in late 2016. This development — and the way fake news was so effectively weaponized by Donald J Trump during the 2016 Presidential Campaign — was the trigger for my conceiving Critical Information
as a platform from which to work and, in early 2017, launching Fighting Fake.
It's for others to judge whether this background qualifies me to opine on fake news and disinformation.
Disclaimer & Corrections
The information contained on this site is for general information and educational purposes only. It is not intended and should not be construed to constitute legal advice. Indeed, the information may not be applicable to all situations and may not reflect the most current situation. It should not be relied on or acted upon without the benefit of legal advice. If you think there's an error in any aspect of our work, please let us know and we will work to make any necessary corrections as quickly as possible. Thank you.
I have tried to acknowledge in the text the sources of information / items used on this website. If there's anywhere this is not clear, perhaps you culd let me know.
Notes
1 See e.g. Peter Pomerantsev’s new book ‘The Disinformation Age’ [2019]. This Age has also been dubbed the ‘Age of Stupid’ for complicity in climate breakdown, but that's another matter...
2 David Dinsmore Comey was a remarkable American environmental campaigner. Here's his Six Principles: 1) The basis for all successful propaganda is the truth. 2) The key to credibility is accurate information. 3) An advocate cannot afford to make mistakes. 4) It is the understatement which succeeds best. 5) The message must be credible to the other side, not your own. 6) The successful advocate is the person Who seeks to educate. [In fact, these principles represent Comey’s reworking of a lecture on psychological warfare delivered in 1953 by RHS Crossman, senior British Officer in charge of Allied propaganda during World War II [in ‘Tell the Truth’, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Jun 1975, p11]. ]
3
The presentation in Brussels was on behalf of Humanists International.
4 For the record, humanism is an approach to life based on reason and our common humanity, recognising that moral values are properly founded on human nature and experience alone. While atheism is merely the absence of belief, humanism is a positive attitude to the world, centred on human experience, thought, and hopes.
Most humanists would agree with the following, that:
• human beings can live ethical and fulfilling lives without religious beliefs;
• we derive our moral code from the lessons of history, personal experience and thought;
• the material universe is the only thing that exists — there are no supernatural beings;
• science provides the only reliable source of knowledge about this universe;
• we only live this life — there is no after-life, and no such thing as reincarnation.
• human beings can live ethical and fulfilling lives without religious beliefs;
• we derive our moral code from the lessons of history, personal experience and thought;
• the material universe is the only thing that exists — there are no supernatural beings;
• science provides the only reliable source of knowledge about this universe;
• we only live this life — there is no after-life, and no such thing as reincarnation.
[There is more about Humanism in Resources.]
