I took inspiration for this project from my experience as a journalist in local news media. Though I haven’t worked as a reporter for over a decade, I find myself, as many others do these days, extremely concerned about a world where fake news and disinformation live side-by-side with legitimate pieces of news. Sadly, it’s often difficult to tell one apart from the other.
The European Commission (2021) has found that the global spread of disinformation threatens freedom of thought, the right to privacy, and the right to democratic participation, as well as a range of economic, social, and cultural rights. The increasing prevalence of disinformation across social media platforms and traditional print and television media has led to a dramatic decline in public trust in the news media. This has also resulted in increased political polarization at the societal level.