{"id":3619,"date":"2019-12-09T09:41:59","date_gmt":"2019-12-09T09:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/?p=3619"},"modified":"2022-03-02T13:53:46","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T13:53:46","slug":"lies-and-democracy-who-are-the-truth-tellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/articles\/news\/lies-and-democracy-who-are-the-truth-tellers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lies and democracy: Who are the truth tellers?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Allan LEONARD for FactCheckNI<\/strong> (6 December 2019<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seamus McKEE. Conference: Lies and Democracy: The Fight for Truth. NICVA AGM. Belfast, Northern Ireland. (c) Allan LEONARD @MrUlster<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As part of the annual general meeting of NICVA<\/a>, the umbrella body of the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland, there was a panel discussion on the topics of truth, trust, and how everyone engages with a bombardment of information. Entitled, \u201cLies and Democracy: The Fight for the Truth\u201d, BBC Radio Ulster presenter, Seamus McKee<\/a>, moderated the discussion with panellists Amanda Ferguson<\/a>, John Barry<\/a>, and Orna Young<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seamus McALEAVEY. (c) Allan LEONARD @MrUlster<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Seamus McAleavy (Chief Executive, NICVA) welcomed the audience of over a hundred and explained the motivation behind choosing the theme of the discussion: \u201cThere\u2019s so much talk of fake news \u2026 There seems to be a willingness on a large part of the public just to take [false] information and not worry whether it\u2019s authentic or not \u2026 We want to really explore that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Seamus McKEE. (c) Allan LEONARD @MrUlster<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Seamus McKee set the scene with remarks on the importance of themes in election campaigns. For the current UK General Election, he cited a newspaper column that described it as \u201ctheatrical misinformation\u201d, with the internet as \u201ca beautiful precision tool\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Geoff Nuttall<\/a> (Head of Policy and Public Affairs, NICVA) presented an interactive, live quiz, \u201cSpot the Truth\u201d. Delegates used their smartphones and the Mentimeter<\/a> service to answer a few questions. We learned that there are 35 staff members at NICVA, polar bears have black skin, and Germany exports more to the US than the UK does.
Each panellist made a brief presentation before an open discussion with the audience. The first presentation was by Amanda Ferguson, who described herself as \u201ca freelance journalist from north Belfast, so I\u2019m always delighted to do a gig within the constituency\u201d (NICVA\u2019s offices are located near an interface at Duncairn Gardens).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Amanda FERGUSON. (c) Allan LEONARD @MrUlster<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ferguson described her first experience of directly being accused of being \u201cfake news\u201d; at an attempt to interview Britain First leader, she told Paul Golding that she was from the Irish Times, \u201csomebody helpfully said to him <\/span> Irish News and \u2026 \u2018She\u2019s \u201cfake news\u201d so don\u2019t talk to her!\u2019\u201d The person who highlighted the fact that Ferguson had done work for the Irish News did so on a purposely inflammatory way, as that newspaper\u2019s readership is primarily of Irish nationalists. This could be a good case of a simplistic and abused definition of \u201cfake news\u201d as being a source of information that you don\u2019t agree with. For example, Ferguson said that people will take a position on where they think you come from, \u201cor as I call it, whether you smell of Mass\u201d. In what is known as the \u201ctelling process\u201d \u2013 determining whether someone is Catholic of Protestant by particular cues, such as one\u2019s name or where they live \u2013 it isn\u2019t as obvious with Ferguson. She spoke of her cross-community background, with her parents in a \u201cmixed marriage\u201d and her attending \u201cCatholic primary school and Protestant secondary school\u201d. Ferguson described how she experienced sectarianism both ways: \u201cYou get a different perspective and I hope that people feel that I bring that to my journalism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One concern that Ferguson highlighted was the appearance of people not being phased so much by news of unbecoming behaviour or suspicious campaign funding, etc. She remarked that people expect journalists to filter out what the truth is, but in an environment where public figures can \u201cjust directly lie, and even when they\u2019re challenged on it, they\u2019ll just deny it\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet Ferguson spoke about how media itself can frame a discussion to its own liking. She described how she was asked to participate in a panel event on TV, when the producer asked her if she would say that she would support the SDLP. Ferguson replied, \u201cNo\u201d, describing her cross-community background: \u201cAnd because I didn\u2019t slot into the box that they needed, I wasn\u2019t part of the programme.\u201d Ferguson called for a wider variety of voices, especially those from minority communities, to be heard throughout the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ferguson said that it is very important, particularly with so much misinformation and online targeting, that people know who trusted sources are for news and information. She gave an example of her mother sending her health scare stories from random websites, \u201cand I tell my mom, \u2018Just go to the NHS website and you\u2019ll find all the information that you need on that\u2019\u201d. Ferguson concluded by saying that it has never been more important than it is now to educate people on how to sort out fact from fiction \u2013 complimenting FactCheckNI and its work \u2013 as well as to support good journalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Seamus McKee introduced the next speaker, he asked the audience to raise their hands if they thought other people look at news through their own biases. Most hands went up. How many in the room look at news themselves through their own biases? Most hands remained up. How many trusted journalists? Many hands went down. \u201cThat\u2019s very interesting \u2026 We have a lot of work to do, Amanda,\u201d McKee replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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John BARRY. (c) Allan LEONARD @MrUlster<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Professor John Barry (Queen\u2019s University Belfast) is a Green political theorist and activist. Wearing a black t-shirt with the motto, \u201cGo back, we screwed everything up!\u201d, he delivered a presentation entitled, \u201cMythic Thinking, Frames, and Democratic Politics\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Ferguson, Barry spoke about the framing of discussions. \u201cFalse equivalency\u201d is when you give disproportionate access to a minority view, and more so when it is a debunked or discredited one, such as the opposition to vaccination or the denial of climate change science. \u201cThe BBC, until last year \u2013 even though 95% of climate scientists tell us that humans are causing climate breakdown \u2013 gave equal time to those who deny climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barry argued that fact checking alone will not defeat a false narrative. False narratives are to be defeated with better narratives. On the issue of climate change, he said that what works for him when he finds himself talking with people from a Christian perspective is to frame the conversation in terms of stewardship of the natural world: \u201cScientific and academic language is completely immune. You appeal to people\u2019s hearts and aspirations.\u201d Barry added that academics and experts bear some responsibility for losing respect, because there is a sense that ordinary people feel being spoken down to, instead of experts \u201cgetting alongside them and finding a common language\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barry said that he works to a definition of \u201cdemocracy as non-violent disagreement\u201d, with people respectfully engaging in disagreement. But if people aren\u2019t operating from the same factual basis, how can you get negotiation, Barry asked. Also, in the case of Northern Ireland politics, \u201cHow do you trade two-fifths of your identity in history against one-fifth of somebody else\u2019s? It doesn\u2019t work like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nostalgia is another element of \u201cpost-truth\u201d, Barry added. People are afraid and anxious, they are less risk averse and more receptive to politics of fear: \u201cAnd in that way, \u2018post-truth\u2019 politics is a gateway drug to a fear-based politics, which works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The response, as Barry started his presentation, is to tell a positive story, \u201cwhich my own Green movement has been crap at doing\u201d. He added, \u201cThe apocalyptic will not mobilise people. You want to present a vision of a better future as like a postcard of a beautiful holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Orna YOUNG. (c) Allan LEONARD @MrUlster<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Orna Young (Co-founder and Research Director, FactCheckNI) began her presentation by describing research she did before establishing Northern Ireland\u2019s first and only dedicated fact-checking service. This research was in regard to the role that social media had in relation to violence taking place near interface areas: \u201cSocial media had a horrendous impact.\u201d She said that FactCheckNI<\/a> was founded on the basis that misinformation \u2013 especially rumour \u2013 was pushing people into behaviours that was detrimental to their wellbeing and future prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young noted that even the term \u201cfact checking\u201d is being hijacked (with reference to the Conservative Party press office rebranding its Twitter account as \u201cfactcheckUK\u201d<\/a>). She advised the audience to look for a badge of verification, issued by the International Fact-Checking Network<\/a> (IFCN), of which FactCheckNI is a member<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are currently 225 active fact-checking organisations in the world<\/a>, stated Young. Besides FactCheckNI, elsewhere in the UK are Full Fact<\/a>, Channel 4 FactCheck<\/a>, BBC Reality Check<\/a>, and Ferret Fact Service<\/a> (FFS); TheJournal.ie Fact Check<\/a> project is based in Dublin, Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What distinguishes FactCheckNI, said Young, was it working within a deeply divided society: \u201cWe work with a conflict lens.\u201d Another unique aspect is its training provision, which few fact-checking organisations do globally. With grant funding that it received in 2015 from Building Change Trust<\/a>, FactCheckNI has been able to train thousands of people in critical thinking skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this regard, Young explained that the essence of critical thinking is being able to distinguish facts from opinions: \u201cA fact is something that can be backed by evidence; an opinion is something that is based on someone\u2019s belief.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t fact check an opinion. With reference to Barry\u2019s argument that an ardent denier of climate change won\u2019t accept fact checks that debunk hoax theories, Young said that the role of fact checkers is not to tell such people what to think (i.e. \u201cFact checks rebuke your hoax!\u201d), rather for deniers to value facts in their own arguments: \u201cWe want people be more engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young reviewed six questions<\/a> that everyone should ask themselves when absorbing a piece of information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Who? Is it a retweet from someone in your Twitter bubble? Or a reliable, official source like the Northern Ireland Statistics Research Agency<\/a> (NISRA)?<\/li>
  2. What? Is it a fact or an opinion? Can it be backed up with evidence?<\/li>
  3. Where? Found in a public space or a private chat group? Meant to invite discussion or discover fellow believers?<\/li>
  4. When? Shared before, during, or after an event? Something repurposed from the past?<\/li>
  5. Why? Published as part of a wider story or agenda? What is the context?<\/li>
  6. How? Inflammatory language? Baiting your emotions?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Furthermore, she described an online toolkit<\/a> that anyone can use, which includes guides on teaching yourself fact checking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n