Fake news: the facts – Emmanuel Centre

'Post-truth' was the Oxford English Dictionary word of the year, and 'alternative facts' is a phrase now in common use. Facts have never been so easy to check, yet fake news stories are on the rise – and with social media accelerating the spread of news both real and fake, the refutation of a false claim is no longer the end of the story.

How do we sift truth from fake news – and will it make any difference? In this event, hosted by the international debate and discussion forum Intelligence Squared, Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland chairs an expert panel to tackle these and other questions.

Armando Iannucci, the creator of countless acclaimed TV and radio comedy shows, is best known for the Bafta-winning BBC comedy The Thick of It, and the Emmy-winning HBO White House comedy Veep.

Craig Silverman, media editor of BuzzFeed News, is one of the world's foremost experts on the fake news phenomenon, and leads BuzzFeed's analysis of its development. He trains journalists the world over in digital verification and debunking.

Tim Wu, named in 2013 as one of America's 100 most influential lawyers, is known for his work on 'net neutrality' theory and for his advisory role to President Obama. He has testified before the US Senate that ‘in certain areas Google is manipulating its search in an anti-competitive way’.

One more speaker TBA.

Standard tickets £30; students £15.