About
About
Fighting Fake is a citizen’s initiative which aims to:
  • help raise public awareness of the threat to human well-being, social cohesion, democracy and peaceful coexistence posed by half-truths and disinformation;
  • provide a ‘One Stop Shop’ where teachers, students, researchers, trainee journalists and concerned citizens can find an overview of the issues involved and how the problems are being tackled; and
  • encourage people to play their part by taking care to check ‘facts’ before posting on social media, and supporting quality journalism and non-governmental and community-based organisations that are actively engaged in fighting fake.
Good governance, human flourishing, and peaceful coexistence require that people treasure and revere accurate information and reasoned argument. Society cannot function without trust.
For the record: Fighting Fake does not receive, nor have we sought, financial support for this work.
We've Making Progress
Here are some of the things Fighting Fake has done to date to get things underway:
  • thoroughly researched the subject and identified hundreds of individuals and organisations that are working in the field and or promoting good journalism — well over 500 initiatives worldwide (inc. >100 in the UK);
  • built a bespoke database to enable quick and easy access to information on organisations fighting fake and the growing body of published work (articles, books, reports and videos);
  • designed and set up this website as a free public resource, and written several papers on tackling disinformation and bad actors on the Internet (which are available on this website);
  • made presentations to a wide range of organisations and associations, including the Conway Hall Ethical Society, local humanist groups, the U3A [University of the Third Age], ProBus [retired professionals], Positive Money, etc.  [more talks are in the pipeline...]; and
  • spoken on 'fake news' and artificial intelligence at a Dialogue Session organised by the European Parliament and addressed a meeting of the Conference of European Churches on 'Religion & Fake News'.[1]
If you would like to be involved in this work in some capacity, please get in touch. If you are on Facebook, you might like to 'like' our page. And please tell your friends.  I look forward to hearing from you!
Brief Biog
I have spent virtually my entirely professional career working in the non-profit sector, and much of it focused on providing sound, accessible and relevant information. I’ve worked on environment and energy policy, and in adult education and international development. I chair Milton Keynes Humanists and am an active member of Humanists UK, and try to apply humanist principles in all of my work.[2]
After completing a second degree (in organic chemistry) I was awarded a Conversion Fellowship to study the sociology of science. I went on to work for Friends of the Earth where I concentrated on civil nuclear power and renewable energy. Six years later I joined the Open University as a Technology Lecturer/Tutor; and in 1990 set up a charity, Powerful Information, where I was responsible for developing, resourcing and managing over 100 grassroots community projects in a dozen countries in E Europe and W Africa. I stood down in 2017.
I have written a number of books, OU Course Units and NGO manuals, and numerous project reports for funders — examples of my more recent writings on topics related to Fighting Fake and humanism can be found on a separate page. Throughout my career I have tried to follow a simple set of principles about effective campaigning that were developed by David Comey from a lecture by Dick Crossman (who was in charge of allied propagada during WWII) — see Pulldown. [3]
This background should explain why I was so concerned when Donald Trump seized on ‘fake news’ during the 2016 Presidential Campaign and used it so effectively against his opponents. This was the trigger for my conceiving Critical Information as a platform from which to work, and in early 2017 launching Fighting Fake.
  • Tell the Truth [Comey's Principles]

    David Dinsmore Comey was a remarkable American environmental campaigner, who I once had the privilege to meet. Here are his Principles: 

    1) The basis for all successful propaganda is the truth. 

    2) The key to credibility is accurate information. 

    3) An advocate cannot afford to make mistakes. 

    4) It is the understatement which succeeds best. 

    5) The message must be credible to the other side, not your own. 

    6) The successful advocate is the person who seeks to educate.  


    These Principles represent Comey’s reworking of notes he made at a lecture on psychological warfare delivered in 1953 by RHS Crossman, senior British Officer in charge of Allied propaganda during World War II [in ‘Tell the Truth’, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Jun 1975, p11]. 

Disclaimer
The material contained on this site is for general information and educational purposes only. It is not intended and should not be construed to constitute legal advice. Indeed, the information may not be applicable to all situations and may not reflect the most current situation. It should not be relied on or acted upon without the benefit of professional legal advice.
Is there anything wrong with this page? If you think there's an error in any aspect of the work, please let us know and we'll work to make any necessary corrections as quickly as possible.
Notes
1      The presentation in Brussels (in Mar 2019) was on behalf of Humanists International. The presentation to the Conference of European Churches was in Lisbon (in Jun 2019)
2    For the record, humanism is an approach to life based on reason and our common humanity, recognising that moral values are properly founded on human nature and experience alone. While atheism is merely the absence of belief, humanism is a positive attitude to the world, centred on human experience, thought, and hopes.

3     You can find David Comey's Paper to the US Atomic Industrial Forum here.
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