The end of information – media, knowledge, and education in a post-truth age

In this talk, Professor David Buckingham will present the main arguments in his most recent book, The End of Information, published in February 2026 by Polity.

He addresses the following questions: 

• Are we really living in a ‘post-truth age’?
• Have ideas like information, knowledge and truth passed their sell-by date?
• Is ‘information disorder’ leading to the terminal decline of democracy?
• Or will fact-checkers, media regulators and educators come to the rescue?

The End of Information cuts through the exaggerated claims that have been made about these issues. Interrogating the key terms in the debate, including trust, democracy, news, and information itself, the book offers a clear-eyed evaluation of potential solutions to the problem. 

It also considers the implications for education, in relation to key issues like literacy and knowledge. It argues that we need to look, not just at the symptoms of information disorder, but also at their wider political and economic causes; and it suggests that these will not be amenable to a simple ‘information fix’.

This event will be particularly useful to academics, students (multiple subject areas, media literacy and beyond), policy makers, educators, and journalists. This is a ReMAP event sponsored by the UCL Grand Challenges: Data Empowered Societies.

Related links

• UCL Knowledge Lab
• Research in Media Arts and Play (ReMAP)
• Department of Culture, Communication and Media
• UCL Grand Challenge: Data-Empowered Societies

Image

Sam Robinson for UCL.