Millennials & the Media: A Post-Truth World
Diversity UK are hosting the second panel debate in the 'Millennials & The Media' series, discussing how to thrive in a post-truth world, on Wednesday 28th March 2018 in London with panellists Matthew D’Ancona, journalist and author of ‘Post Truth: The New War on Truth and How to Fight Back’; Anila Dhami, broadcast journalist and presenter; Ravi Mattu, Tech Editor at the Financial Times and moderator Saima Mohsin, International correspondent and presenter.
Trust in traditional media, politicians and civic organisations is at an all time low with the Brexit Referendum and the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States leading us to think that lies, hypocrisy and flattery have become the new “norm”. Scientists and academics too are suffering from an erosion in veracity on evidence-based methodology and logical thinking. The terms ‘alternative facts’ and ‘fake news’ have become common parlance and “post truth” was the Oxford English Dictionary’s 2016 international word of the year, reflecting what it called a "highly-charged" political 12 months.
It seems difficult enough to survive in a “post truth” world let alone thrive in one. Yet, this is exactly what millennials must do to conquer the barrage of misinformation, rumour and hate speech to ensure that trust in our democratic rights, freedom and liberty is retained. Progress cannot be achieved when “objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief”, ie a “post truth” world. So what skills will be required to thrive in a post-truth world? What can you do to ensure you don’t suffer from a belief bias? When should you challenge and how can you take back control of your own ideas to help shape the next generation?
The debate will be followed by a Q&A, drinks and networking.
Admission is FREE. Click here to reserve your ticket
About the speakers
About Matthew D’Ancona
Matthew d’Ancona writes a weekly column for the Guardian. He was previously editor of the Spectator and also writes for the Evening Standard, the International New York Times and GQ. He was the Sunday Telegraph’s political columnist for 19 years. He is also Chairman of think tank Bright Blue. He was elected a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, in 1989, after gaining First Class Honours in Modern History at Magdalen College where he was a Demy (scholar). He is a visiting research fellow at Queen Mary University of London, author of several books including In It Together: The Inside Story of the Coalition (2013) and Post Truth: The New War on Truth and How to Fight Back (2017).
Twitter: @MatthewdAncona
About ‘Post Truth: The New War on Truth and How to Fight Back’
Welcome to the Post-Truth era - a time in which the art of the lie is shaking the very foundations of democracy and the world as we know it. The Brexit vote; Donald Trump’s victory; the rejection of climate change science; the vilification of immigrants; all have been based on the power to evoke feelings and not facts. So what does it all mean and how can we champion truth in in a time of lies and ‘alternative facts’?
In this eye-opening and timely book, Post-Truth is distinguished from a long tradition of political lies, exaggeration and spin. What is new is not the mendacity of politicians but the public’s response to it and the ability of new technologies and social media to manipulate, polarise and entrench opinion. Where trust has evaporated, conspiracy theories thrive, the authority of the media wilt and emotions matter more than facts . Now, one of the UK’s most respected political journalists, Matthew d’Ancona investigates how we got here, why quiet resignation is not an option and how we can and must fight back.
Click here to buy the paperback via Amazon (£6.99)
Click here to buy this book on Amazon Kindle (£4.99)
About Anila Dhami
Anila Dhami is a Broadcast Journalist and Presenter, and has worked for Zee TV, the BBC, ITV and The Telegraph. She is currently Assistant Producer on Channel 5's The Wright Stuff and also works as a freelance presenter. She is passionate about furthering the evolution of humanity by creating a well-informed electorate; and aims to create gender equality and ensure we look inwards to be the best we can be.
Twitter: @AnilaDhami
About Ravi Mattu
Ravi Mattu is the Technology, Media and Telecoms News Editor of the Financial Times. Since joining the FT 17 years ago, he has worked in a range of roles; spoken to CEOs, entrepreneurs and prime ministers as well as some of the world’s leading management thinkers, from the founders of Uber and Nest, to the CEOs of Microsoft and Vodafone, to one of the men who came up with the concept of virtual reality. Mr Mattu joined the FT in 2000 and has held a number of senior positions, including: Editorial Director for FT2 , the commercial content division of the Financial Times; Business Life editor, overseeing the management section of the paper; Acting Editor and Deputy Editor of the FT Weekend Magazine; editor of Special Reports (magazines and websites), during which time he edited a number of titles, including Mastering Management, and launched FT Wealth.
Twitter: @ravmattu
About the moderator - Saima Mohsin
Saima Mohsin is an International Correspondent and Presenter who has worked for networks in the UK, US and Asia. For the past five years she has been International Correspondent for CNN. She has also been a presenter/reporter for BBC One's Watchdog, The World Today on World Service Radio, Special Correspondent for PBS Newshour & fronted the landmark BBC series Horizons. She was the face of Pakistan's first English news channel and named Newsweek's Top 100 Women to Shake Pakistan. Twitter: @SaimaMohsin
Admission is FREE. Click here to reserve your ticket
