1. November 2017  |   

We invite to another Speech Karaoke Klub Nite. After the celebration of subjectivity in the Manifesto night we turn our focus to the facts, or what we believe the facts are. Although it is not a new term, it has been dominant in most of the political discussions of today: Fake News.  Many associate the term with Trump, who –in his own style of self-aggrandizement – claims to have invented the term, but there are perhaps some deeper, more sinister forces at work here. 

When the line between News and Lies gets more and more unsharp you fabricate confusions – a phenomena Adam Curtis calls “Oh Dearism”. He defines it as a new form of mass control in which the news are so overwhelming and confusing that the only comment that is left to say is “Oh Dear!”, but Curtis points out that this is precisely the reaction that is wanted. Curtis claims that this tactics of mass confusion come from the former avantgarde artist and now close Putin advisor Vladislav Surkov:
 
“This tactic was invented in Russia by Vladimir Putin’s advisor, Vladislav Tserkov, who has spent 15 years aiding Russia’s elected tsar. Tserkov was an avant-garde artist, and imported elements from Conceptual art into Russian politics. The Soviet Regime has staged and promoted a series of gatherings and spectacles as part of its campaign to mobilise Russian support. But he has also gone further, giving funding to groups directly opposed to his master and each other, from Neo-Nazi stormtroopers to Human Rights activists. He has also deliberately let everyone know he has done this. This has produced a radical destabilisation of the opposition, as it is no longer clear what is authentic and genuine, and what is carefully staged propaganda. The result is an enervating feeling of defeat.”


”Fake news” can be interpreted in (at least) two different ways. For some, fake news are texts disguised as news usually found on fake news sites. For others (like the president of the US), fake news are journalistic content produced by journalists for established news outlets. So, how do we even know what we are talking about when we are talking about fake news? Does the post-truth discourse contain anything else besides alternative facts and real lies?

All governments lie, they say. Telling white lies and leaving out facts have been ways in which politicians have walked the walk and talked the talk for ages. Catching a politician or a power broker outright lying is not unheard of, either. For this Speech Karaoke Club, we have gathered speeches that have either turned out to be or are obviously lies. The list includes contemporary speeches by Donald Trump and Juha Sipilä, with legendary takes on truth by the likes of Bill Clinton and Jari isometsä.

Between rounds of speeches we will be entertained by Dj Nosfe. The Club is free of charge.