Oxford Dictionaries named ‘post-truth’ as its word of the year in 2016. The EU referendum and the American election are both examples where the political misuse of statistics and facts has become commonplace. There are also increasing concerns about the rise of ‘fake news’. But what is ‘post-truth’? Is there something genuinely new about our current era, or is this a new word about the same old age problem? And what can be done to ensure that statistics, facts and evidence are part of a balanced debate in the media and politics? The RSS, in association with Sense about Science, Full Fact and the Oxford Internet Institute is delighted to host a panel discussion to debate the phenomenon of ‘post-truth’. We have a fantastic panel to shed light on the issues:
Buzzfeed
Sense about Science
Full Fact
Professor of Society and the Internet
Helen Margetts is Professor of Society and the Internet, a political scientist specialising in digital government and politics. She was Director of the OII from 2011-18. She is a Professorial Fellow of Mansfield College.
Royal Statistical Society
