This thought-provoking, cross-generational exhibition explores the use of propaganda, disinformation and fake news from ancient times to the present day, encouraging curiosity and critical thinking to help visitors navigate today’s information-rich world.
Combining historical material with current debate and playful interactives, Fake News? encourages visitors to question what is true, what is fake, and how to tell the difference.
Visitors can explore the role of misinformation across the centuries, discovering how powerful narratives have been constructed and weaponised throughout history using the information technology of the time. The exhibition then moves into the digital age, exploring how algorithms work, the role of influencers and the rise of Artificial Intelligence, which has taken misinformation to a whole new level.
The exhibition brings together original historical examples with newly commissioned animation and illustrations by artist Syd Murphy.
For families, the exhibition is accompanied by the S.N.I.F.F. Trail, where visitors join trusty bloodhound guide Ernest Smellingway to sniff out fact from fiction. With a nose for the truth, Ernest leads visitors on a playful, family-friendly journey stretching across the whole museum, designed to engage and educate visitors of all ages.
Fake News? is commissioned by Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, as part of its Making Sense of Media programme. The exhibition and interactive museum trail will run until mid-2027.
