I would like to draw your attention to the following online philosophy seminar series\, hosting by the Center for International Philosophy at Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai this semester.
\nOn June 12th\, 5pm China Standard Time\, Fred Matthews (Bristol) will be presenting a talk titled "When is an official source not a reliable source? An analysis of mainstream misinformation and credibility"
\nAttendance is free.
\nPlease register for the event by sending an email to:
\nm.dentith@bnu.edu.cn
\nfor the Zoom link and password.
\nAbstract: When researching conspiracy theories and misinformation\, much emphasis is placed upon the status of &lsquo\;official sources&rsquo\;. Conspiracy theories are sometimes defined in terms of their opposition to the narratives put forward by official sources\, and the condemnation of conspiracy theories often occurs alongside the belief that we should place our trust in official sources of information. It will be the contention of this paper that we need a better understanding of &lsquo\;official sources&rsquo\;\, and that some official sources are capable of promoting a potentially dangerous form of &lsquo\;mainstream misinformation&rsquo\; if not assessed critically.
\nI shall argue that official sources of information are indeed crucial and often deserve our trust\, but that we also need a clearer sense of what counts as a trustworthy official source\, and what the hierarchy should be in different domains of enquiry. I shall begin with what I believe is the widely accepted view that not all official sources are created equal. Regardless of our political views\, most people probably treat government bodies which have a possible agenda with greater scepticism than independent scientific institutions and so on. I will then analyse some prominent examples of official sources and how much trust we should place in them\, highlighting the flaws with each of them. It will become clear that whether we should place our trust in these sources depends greatly on the context\, and the sort of claim being assessed. Furthermore\, I will suggest that there is a worrying tendency for us to be subject to the &lsquo\;halo effect of expertise&rsquo\;\, which can lead to clear cases of misinformation being promoted by mainstream\, generally reliable sources. This has a tendency to slip under the radar. There also appears to be a &lsquo\;halo effect of class&rsquo\;\, in which ideas that would seemingly be dismissed as disreputable conspiracy theorizing by &lsquo\;outsiders&rsquo\; nonetheless manage to attain a status of respectability when put forward by famous\, privileged\, or influential figures.
\nI shall finally present a path for moving forward\, arguing that all official and influential sources\, no matter how trustworthy they may appear to be\, must be subjected to appropriate intellectual scrutiny. This means that their claims should often\, although importantly not always\, be assessed carefully and scrutinized for possible sources of bias. This applies even (or especially) when we are dealing with very reputable figures or institutions. In this way\, we can develop a safety buffer against mainstream sources of misinformation while simultaneously keeping non-mainstream misinformation at bay.
\nBio: Fred Matthews is a Teaching Assistant and recent PhD graduate at the University of Bristol. His main areas of research are in political philosophy and environmental ethics. He also has an interest in social epistemology and the philosophy of conspiracy theories. His most recent articles include &lsquo\;Liberalism and Individual Freedom in the Climate Crisis&rsquo\; (Environmental Ethics\, forthcoming) and &lsquo\;On the Censorship of Conspiracy Theories&rsquo\; (Social Epistemology\, 2025). Before his PhD at Bristol\, he completed an MPhil in Political Theory at the University of Oxford\, and a BA in Philosophy at the University of East Anglia.
\nThe meeting time is the 12th of June\, 5pm China Standard Time [9am GMT\, June 12th]
\nMeeting time in other timezones:
\n- 10am\, British Standard Time
\n- 11am Central European Standard Time
\n- 2am\, Pacific Daylight Time
\n- 9pm\, New Zealand Standard Time
ORGANIZER;CN=M R. X. Dentith: METHOD:PUBLISH END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR