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A Year of Misinformation

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Factual: Health & Wellbeing

Factual: Politics

BBC Radio 4 - A Year of Misinformation

A look back at false stories that went viral online and the real-life harm they caused.

The US election and the Covid-19 pandemic meant 2020 was a huge year for bad info. The BBC’s disinformation experts track where the big lies came from and the harm they caused.

The final months of Donald Trump’s presidency and the coronavirus pandemic led to an explosion of misinformation – conspiracy theories, rumours, misleading social media posts and so-called “fake news”.
It’s meant busy times for a team inside the BBC who work to untangle truth from fiction and identify the bad actors behind bad info.
BBC Trending presenter Mike Wendling and specialist disinformation and social media reporter Marianna Spring have investigated some of the most viral falsehoods and conspiracy theories circulating online.
With the help of colleagues, they explored the rise of the pro-Trump movement QAnon. And they unpicked wild rumours and pseudoscience about Covid-19 that led to real-world harm – including deaths, riots and the destruction of mobile phone masts. 
In this programme, they look back at some of the biggest stories of the past year, and reflect on what they learned about who spreads disinformation, who believes it, and what we all need to watch out for in the year ahead.
 

Producer: Ed Main

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