The media furore over 'fake news', disinformation, and so-called 'post-truth politics' can lead the public to despair of being able to determine what is true - and indeed much propaganda intends to muddy the epistemological waters rather than to persuade. However, there is no evidence to support the assertion that they no longer care what is true. In this talk, Eliot Higgins will offer an insight into how we can navigate the claims and counterclaims related to the current war in Ukraine.
The work of Higgins' citizen collective Bellingcat offers a refreshing antidote to the post-truth gloom; “Scattered across the globe, we are an online collective, investigating war crimes and picking apart disinformation, basing our findings on clues that are openly available on the Internet – in social media postings, in leaked databases, in free satellite maps. […] We have no agenda but we do have a credo: evidence exists and falsehoods exist, and people still care about the difference.” (Eliot Higgins, We Are Bellingcat, Bloomsbury)
Eliot Higgins is the founder of Bellingcat, an award-winning investigative collective that has pioneered online open-source investigation methods. As well as publishing their investigations on the Bellingcat website, the organisation train and collaborate with mainstream journalists, such as work on the award-winning BBC Africa Eye documentary Cameroon: Anatomy of a Killing, which identified the location, time frame, and individuals in a contested video showing soldiers murdering women and children. Their investigations include the downed flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, police violence in Colombia, and the illegal wildlife trade in the UAE. Their research has been cited by several courts and investigative missions.
This event has been organised by the Centre for Media, Politics and Communication.