A Note From The Editors’ Desk

In the following articles, the storytellers take on the theme of Disinformation by exploring the offline consequences of online lies.

Disinformation feeds into our personal experiences and deepest-seated emotions. QAnon, Incels or the anti-vaxx movement - one way or another, many of us are driven into these parallel realities by the feeling of isolation and a need for community, purpose, or meaning.

At the heart of this issue are the personal stories of people across Europe who have had their lives profoundly changed by online disinformation, as it has the power to divide communities, families, and relationships. 

Tackling this polarising effect of disinformation means treading into murky waters replete with us-versus-them narratives. The editors and contributors have applied a specific conflict-resolution approach, called “Complicating the Narrative,” in an effort to create a dialogue between two apparently irreconcilable worlds. 

Asking questions such as: what can we learn from the past, or from those who have broken free from conspiratorial thought? How do the two sides view each other? What has shaped their views? Where is the common ground?

The answers are rarely clear-cut, and yet—as the stories in this issue show—starting these difficult conversations is an important step in building bridges and realising that we have more in common than we think.

Dare to be Grey is incredibly excited to have partnered with Are We Europe on their latest issue Online Lies, Offline Lives. The following articles are just a selection from the issue. To buy the full printed issue, click here.