Fake news – that is, news that is actually false – is as old as the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Nor is there anything new about denouncing real news as false; Josef Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister, was a master at undermining what he called “the lying press.” But the serpent and Goebbels didn’t have access to social media. Nor had their targets been conditioned to reject any news they didn’t like. Suanne Kelman, professor emeritus of the School of Journalism at Ryerson University, will discuss our world’s unfortunate collision of new technology, cynical and corrupt politics and the consumerist approach to information.
Suanne Kelman is Professor Emeritus of Ryerson University’s School of Journalism, where she taught for 21 years and served twice as the School’s Interim Chair. She is the author of All in the Family: A Cultural History of Family Life. Before joining Ryerson, she worked at CBC Radio’s Sunday Morning, CBC television’s The Journal and the Globe and Mail, as well as producing freelance material for outlets ranging from CBC radio’s Ideas to Chatelaine and Shape magazines. She is a regular contributor to the Literary Review of Canada. She has been lecturing on books to private and public groups, including Toronto’s libraries, since 1999.
