This month in our Conversation Club we are going to address the issue of fake news. This issue has generated and continues to generate intense debate in the fields of journalism, philosophy, politics and on the street. Various authors have approached this topic from different perspectives, analysing its impact on society and the importance of maintaining a commitment to the truth.Fake news includes disinformation, misinformation and hoaxes, with objectives such as political influence, social polarisation and economic gain. It is spread mainly through social networks, traditional media and private messaging.We will use different examples from Spain and the UK:• 11M in Spain: initial misinformation about the Madrid bombings in 2004, which caused political polarisation, conspiracy theories and media manipulation.• Brexit in the UK: lies about EU funding and visual manipulation during the 2016 referendum, which fostered fear and disinformation.We will also discuss the mechanisms of propagation: how information bias, extreme emotions and social media algorithms amplify fake news. We will also comment on the tools to combat this disinformation: verification platforms such as Maldita.es and Newtral, as well as how to promote media education and critical thinking.
Join our conversation club at Instituto Cervantes London on Tuesday, 11th November 2025 at 6:30pm. See you then!
If you would like to prepare beforehand, take a look at some of the articles listed below. We recommend taking note of the vocabulary used.
Recommended reading:
Useful videos:
