What’s up for discussion at Toronto’s first 2018 event?

Society’s bizarre relationship with facts

What do you mean?

In case you missed it, this happened in the last two years:

• We came up with a term for made up stuff:
  Alternative Facts
• Countries meddled with each other’s elections through:
  Fake News
• The combination of the two are said to have given birth to:
  Post-truth

Wait what!? Yep, and now we are wondering:

• How are we to debate issues if we can’t even agree on the facts?
• Who is telling the truth?
• Are we guilty of picking and choosing our own version of the truth?
• Are there upsides to a wave of post-truthism?

Let’s talk about it

Join us for this free talk with Greg Kelly, Executive Producer of Ideas at CBC Radio One, as we explore the history, relevance, impact, and future of society’s relationship with facts.

Some additional questions we want to explore: 

• Fake News, Alternative facts, and Post-truth, why are these terms so popular now?
• What’s the history of these trends?
• Has this become a major concern for governments?
• What’s the role of social media networks?
• What’s the psychology and sociology behind post-truth?
• How do we deal with this? And many more..

Agenda

Reception:  6:30 p.m.

Presentation:  6:45 p.m.

Q&A:  7:15 p.m.

Mingling:  8:00 p.m.

The Speaker

Greg Kelly, Executive Producer of CBC Radio One “Ideas”

Greg graduated with a BA in English Literature and Humanities from York University, a joint MA in Victorian Literature and History from York University and University of Toronto, and a D. Phil. In English Language and Literature from Oxford University. He worked for CBC Radio and TV before moving in 2006 to National Public Radio (NPR) in the U.S. to start a new, national daily current affairs show called The Story. In 2009 he was Editor of “The State We’re In” at Radio Netherlands Worldwide before returning to the CBC in 2013 to assume the helm of Ideas.

This invite ain’t Fake News, see you on the 27th