Fake news, social media created echo chambers, online hate speech, as well as the role of the algorithms in all this, have been heavily debated the last few years in a Norwegian as well as an international perspective. What is sure, is that the intensive use of fake news promotes the culture of clash at the expense of the culture of pluralism, which represents an insidious threat to democracy.

But how to counter this practice of false information? Can we force the giants of the Internet, such as Facebook, Google and Apple, to be transparent and virtuous? Does artificial intelligence contribute to systemic and global disinformation, or on the contrary, can new technologies help us rebuild a benevolent society based on objective information?

Institut français de Norvège has brought together participants from different backgrounds in order to discuss these important subjects.

Paris-based visual artist Andrés Baron will open the debate by introducing his artistic take on the subject and presenting some of his works. The conversation will thereon continue along with the other participants: moderator Elin Strand Larsen, Associate Professor at Østfold University College, Bente Roalsvig, Project and Deputy Director at the Fritt Ord Foundation, Johannes Langguth, Research Scientist at Simula Researach Laboratory and Marie-Laure Muchery, Fund Manager at the NGO Civitates.

Andrés Baron

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Andrés Baron lives and works in Paris. His approach, which focuses on spaces of representation, deals with images that have been altered by screens and networks. He is an École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs (ENSAD) graduate, and his work in video, photography, and film has been shown in a range of places and exhibitions, both in France and internationally.

Bente Roalsvig

Project and Deputy Director at the Fritt Ord Foundation. She is engaged in providing support for independent documentary films, photography, nonfiction books, exhibitions and journalism, and has initiated a number of projects in the Fritt Ord Foundation’s efforts to strengthen the position of documentary photography in Norway. She also co-organizes Fritt Ord Foundation’s monitoring project on the status of freedom of expression in Norway.

Elin Strand Larsen

Associate Professor at Østfold University College, Norway, and co-Head of the research group AreaS. She holds a doctoral degree in media and journalism from the University of Oslo. Her research interests are fake news and fact-checking, political scandals and crisis communication.

Johannes Langguth

Research Scientist at Simula Research Laboratory and Associate Professor II at the University of Bergen in Computer Science. His research focuses on graph algorithms, artificial intelligence, combinatorial scientific computing and computational social science. He has led interdisciplinary NFR funded projects on fake news and digital wildfires, with the goal of studying misinformation both from the technical and the psychological point of view.

Marie-Laure Muchery

Fund Manager at Civitates. Marie-Laure Muchery has 10 years' professional and volunteer experience in philanthropy. Before joining Civitates, she was with Fondation de France, advising hosted funds and managing grant-making activities with a thematic focus on international aid, fundamental rights, and freedoms, as well as youth and civil society empowerment especially in North Africa. Marie-Laure holds a postgraduate degree in International relations and cultural affairs from the University of Lyon.