The weaponisation of fear and misinformation is nothing new. We must act against it

A few years ago, I had an epiphany. My interests, education, curiosity and lived experience all converged to reveal the question that most excites, and troubles me: How are we manipulated, and why don’t we see it happening?

This question is not academic for me – it is personal, lived and urgent. My earliest lessons about misinformation came not from textbooks, but from the heart of my family and our experience at IMEDI, one of Georgia’s biggest independent television stations. My father founded IMEDI as a symbol of free media in a country trying to define itself after Soviet rule. I grew up believing in the power of truth and the responsibility of those who tell it. But I also saw, firsthand, how fragile truth can be when power is threatened.

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The most searing example of misinformation’s destructive power came in March 2010. I remember the panic that swept through Georgia after IMEDI – having been seized by the Georgian government – aired a fake news report: a pseudo-documentary so convincingly produced that it triggered mass hysteria. The broadcast claimed Russia had invaded, parliament had collapsed, and government officials had been killed. Thousands believed it was real – people fled their homes, soldiers mobilised and, tragically, many people suffered from the shock and fear it caused and a few died.

The intention, we were told, was to warn Georgians about real threats. But the result was a profound erosion of trust – not just in the media, but in each other. The hoax was condemned by journalists, the public and international observers. It was a stark lesson in how easily fear can be weaponised, and how quickly a society can be destabilised by a single, well-crafted lie.

Watching the gigantic Russian propaganda machine so effectively embrace the new technologies and find ways of using it to destabilise democracies around the world has been shocking, but it’s old news now. We need to act against it

When back in September 2022 conscription was rolled out in Russia – six months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine – panic went through the population and media. Reports of imminent measures being taken to send 18-year-olds to the frontlines without any preparation or indeed choice fuelled this fire and as we were trying to help to get most vulnerable out of the country, the media and social media frenzy skyrocketed the ticket prices turning it into a thriller with very high stakes. This was viral information in action.

These and so many other experiences left me with a profound sense of responsibility. I realised that the fight against fake news could not be left to governments or tech platforms alone. Real change begins at the individual level. We cannot simply outsource vigilance; we must each become active participants in the information landscape.

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That conviction led me to found Sage & Jester, an arts production company dedicated to exploring the mechanics of manipulation and the power of narrative in shaping reality. Our mission is to take critical thinking out of the abstract and make it visceral, wrapping it in stories, laughter and immersive experiences that provoke audiences to question the very notions of truth and trust.

Our latest project, STOREHOUSE, is the culmination of this journey. Set in a vast, fictional world where information has been meticulously archived since the dawn of the internet, STOREHOUSE invites audiences to step into a battle between the defenders of truth and the creators of fake news. The questions it asks are rooted in my own reality: What captures our attention? Why do some narratives seduce us more than others? Who decides what’s true, and who benefits when we believe it?

Creating STOREHOUSE has been a collaborative labour of love, shaped by a team of artists, designers and storytellers who share my passion for challenging audiences to think critically about the information they consume. We don’t lecture or preach; instead, we invite people to live inside the mechanics of disinformation, to feel its pull, and to confront their own biases and blind spots.

Disinformation continues to distort reality on personal, national, and international levels. The lessons I learned about the fragility of truth, the dangers of unchecked power, and the resilience of those who fight for transparency inform everything I do today. STOREHOUSE is not just about spectacle; it’s about sparking reflection, about what you believe, who you trust, and what you share.

If there is one thing I wish for the next generation, it is this: that they inherit a world where truth is not a casualty of power, but a foundation for progress. Even in the darkest moments of misinformation, we each have the power to illuminate the lies we live with-and to choose, again and again, the path of honesty.

Liana Patarkatsishvili is the founder of Sage & Jester. STOREHOUSEruns until 4 September at Deptford Storehouse.

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