The rise of ‘fake news’ has been a shock for us all. Once we happily assumed what we heard on TV or read in newspapers was fundamentally true, give or take the usual nuances, we recognised propaganda for what it was and felt confident that we all shared the same world. Suddenly, it has all changed. Do vaccines kill or cure? Is our use of carbon fuels destroying our world or should we let the world burn? When you read a post on Facebook do you think “is that really true?”

If you believe facts are genuinely important, how do we check what facts we are receiving? And to what extent is that even possible or even desirable? Are there steps we can take to finding a path through all the misinformation? Are all our facts the same?

News, False News & Propaganda is an attempt to plot a path through the blizzards of misinformation. Each week we will gather with our phones and laptops to examine some statements we have read or heard and try and work out how true they are. By the final week it may even be possible to map out an approach which will help keep us close to the straight and narrow.