Championing Truth: How Scientific Journalism Can Combat Disinformation in the Post-Truth Era

Professor Carlos Elias

The Jean Monnet Chair on European Union, Disinformation and Fake News- Carlos Elias of the MediaLab Research group of UC3M was recently featured on an edition of the prominent The Journalism Laboratory podcast. Alongside seasoned journalist- Lluis Cucarella- as host, he explored the critical role of scientific journalism in today’s society. Addressing the growing wave of pseudoscience, he emphasised the importance of the scientific method as the most reliable pathway to discovering truth. He highlighted the shared elements of science and journalism- “to discover truth and make it public”- and how these shared goals should drive the fight against misinformation in a post-truth era.

Speaking on the impact of the post-truth era on science and society, Carlos warned that the current anti-science campaigns propagated through disinformation threaten to regress society into an age of ignorance. He hinted that in an effort to combat disinformation, fact-checking has become an essential tool. Reflecting on a recent study supported by the Chair on EU Disinformation and Fake News project, he cautioned that fact-checkers are also prone to biases, raising the challenges of ensuring fact-checkers remain unbiased and ideologically neutral, urging greater scrutiny of ‘who verifies the fact-checkers.’

In combating the growing wave of fake news, disinformation, and pseudoscience, Professor Carlos appealed for the inclusion of scientific journalism in university journalism curricula. Additionally, he advocated that scientific journalism should embrace ‘honest subjectivity’—arguing that journalists should align with the victims of deception rather than strive for misguided neutrality, which he termed ‘unfair’.  He urged social media influencers, corporations, and institutions to leverage their platforms and extensive followings to combat disinformation. Their unparalleled reach in the digital age, he emphasized, makes them crucial allies in this fight.

His call to action for education, accountability, and collaboration serves as a roadmap to counteract disinformation through scientific journalism. The Jean Monnet Chair on European Union, Disinformation and Fake News project is one of the projects at MediaLab funded by the European Union to address the pervasive issues of disinformation and fake news through the dual lenses of journalism and science.