Reporting in a house of mirrors

Presented by Justin Ling, investigative journalist and author.

All are welcome to attend this public lecture.

Attend in person: FNB 4130
Attend virtually: Zoom link

These days, it feels like we don't even know what we're arguing about anymore. Our society has been riven by political polarization, paranoid populism, even extremism, brought on by a deluge of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories. Our collective conversation has been warped, skewed, stretched, and shrunk beyond recognition, making it harder and harder to see what's right in front of our faces. Journalists have rushed around, trying to correct all the distortion — often to little avail. Our body politic has suffered as a result, with crises and critical policy questions being ignored in favour of ideological crusades and small grievances made to look massive. If we are ever to face the myriad of problems facing us, we will need to return to some kind of collective reality. To get there, journalists will need to take the lead.

Speaker Bio: Justin Ling is a freelance investigative journalist who covers misinformation, conspiracy theories, extremism, political polarization, and national security. He hosted the podcasts The Village, which investigated a series of disappearances from Toronto's Gay Village and the roots of homophobic violence in Toronto; and The Flamethrowers, which traces how right-wing radio radicalized America. His first book, Missing From the Village, was published in 2020; his second book, a polemic against riot policing, is due out eventually. His newsletter, Bug-eyed and Shameless, covers the frontlines of the information war.

Hosted by the FIMS Rogers Chair.