The UA Headquarters in Torrevieja presents the book "Disinformation and Power" on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.

On April 30th at 7:00 p.m., a debate will take place at the Torrevieja Casino, featuring news professionals and an expert in research and critical and constructive reflection on fake news.

Journalists representing some of Torrevieja's leading media outlets and the author of the book "Disinformation and Power: Alchemy of Persuasion" will discuss, within the framework of World Press Freedom Day, the current situation facing the media in a context dominated by disinformation and hoaxes.

This is an initiative of the University of Alicante Headquarters in Torrevieja, in collaboration with Torrevieja City Council and the Torrevieja Casino.

Raúl Rodríguez-Ferrándiz, the book's author, is a professor of Semiotics of Mass Communication at the University of Alicante. He won the Miguel de Unamuno Essay Prize in 2019 for "Magics of Fiction" (Devenir, 2020) and the Ciutat de València International Essay Prize in 2017 for "Masks of Lies" (Pre-Textos, 2018). Since 2016, he has specialized in post-truth politics, disinformation, conspiracy theories, and fake news. He has published in cultural magazines such as Revista de Occidente, Claves de Razón Práctica, La maleta de Portbou, and Electra, and is a regular contributor to the "Arte y Letras" supplement of the Alicante newspaper Información.

The debate will be moderated by Jesús Mula, PhD in journalism, professor of journalism at the University of Mexico (UMH), and journalist for the newspaper Información. Also participating will be Esther Sánchez, representative of Onda Cero; Melania Sala, from Televisión Torrevieja TVT; and Rafa Ballester, from Torrevieja Radio.

Attendance at the event is free until capacity is reached.

Information and documentation about the book is available at this link.

Synopsis of the book

“Information is power” is a revisable motto. When information circulates in an overabundance and is just a click away, when we are assaulted at every turn with messages that fit us like a glove, when everything is subject to leaks, then the lever of power is wielded through noise, which generates confusion and dissent. It becomes a thick broth where stories compete for limited attention, and the truth is not a stable horizon for confronting them, but rather a value quoted on a market: it is privatized, viralized, and monetized without relation to the facts. This book offers a brief introduction to “Trumpology,” the Cambridge Analytica case and computational propaganda, the Pizzagate case and the role of WikiLeaks, but also refers to those who contribute to polarization by attacking immigration, feminism, and LGBTI rights. The discussion focuses on Facebook and X's content (in)moderation strategies, and on the advertisers who, often unknowingly, finance pseudo-media outlets that spread hoaxes or incite hatred, on the conspiracies that lied with the 'plandemic' story when the virus arrived, and that now continue to deny climate change or scare people with the Great Replacement. Our fondness for rumors and novelistic lies and for sharing them for a handful of 'likes' is analyzed. Finally, a coda is dedicated to the DANA that hit the province of Valencia and to Trump's second victory in the North American elections.