Post-truth

POST TRUTH LANDSCAPE

– Fake news – Panel discussion

In the former Soviet states, the disinformation of the population went on for decades, as fake news about the achievements of Socialism and the loathsome Western capitalism were topical. In fact, in every official bulletin reality was concealed by a fake-propagandistic version. This custom was so widespread and invariable in terms of methodology and implementation that it was less dangerous as it was predictable, habituated. The seriousness of fake news in Romania could be felt, however, during the so-called Revolution of December 1989, broadcast by a single source of centralized information at that time, namely TVR (the Romanian Television): among the information being broadcast, they said that there were terrorists lurking everywhere, that the water was poisoned in the villages. It was a false alert, with caused many problems at that time.

Along with the change in the media landscape and the defragmentation of information centers from print to online media, consumers have also migrated from classic journalism to social media and the speed by which information spread has changed as well, hence we are faced with a new situation, where manipulation through information becomes very easy, while information can mobilize the population anytime.

This new situation, this media landscape in the “Post-Truth” era requires you to know the “new road signs” and a new vocabulary: fake news, hoax articles, informational war, hybrid war, heckathon, info hacking and leaking, fact checking. 

The panel discussion will address various policies and best practices to avoid the orchestrated attacks of fake news, the existing solutions against “fake news” attacks at a macro level for the time being. What kind of good and functional solutions are there at an institutional, governmental level right now? What kind of solutions do big online corporations (Google, Facebook) use? What can associations or media companies in this field do? 

Independent mockumentary- under arrest- masterclass

Documentary film has built up the reputation of being based on truth, and is mostly known as an audiovisual/cinema genre which gives audiences facts and evidence about people, events, phenomena, or, as cinema does, introduces the public into human worlds whose complete context and details are not fully known. 

Arguments about truth in documentary filmmaking—to what extent is a film “real” or not—have been debated for decades, as such discussions are inherent to the form. The discussion has raised a series of epistemological, ethical questions to be answered to that end. As the craft of the documentary form has become more widespread over the last two decades, with filmmakers applying a full range of cinematic tools, the questions of truth or untruth in documentary film ring more loudly and persistently.

In the era of POST TRUTH, time has come to address the issues raised by mockumentaries, where filmmakers and producers deliberately use fabricated content for their documentary films. Mockumentaries, or fake documentaries, have become known after several scandals of commercial documentary channels that, based on commercial agendas, produced and aired documentary series which were based on fake information and used the testimonies of fake experts, fooling millions of viewers. For example, Discovery Channel’s theme series about animals, mermaids or history subjects (http://www.businessinsider.com/discovery-channels-fake-documentaries-2014-9)

Mockumentaries under arrest – masterclass –

will bring up the question: Why are independent film directors attracted to mockumentaries?   

Ruben Vermeersch, a Belgian independent director and producer will share his experience in making the mockumentary Applause Man. He will speak about his motivation to make this film, about all sorts of creative demands during the production: creating the character, finding and guiding the actors, and the strange situations related to fundraising, the reception and distribution of the completed film. He is going to make reference to the other well-known independent mockumentary film “Exit through the Gift Shop”.