The Fake Virus: Is Stability in the Modern World Under Threat?

Fiction, hoaxes, fake news: the media used to hardly ever deal with these issues. But today, in the era of rapid development of digital technologies and new media, an aversion to fact-checking is a serious challenge for modern newsmaking, culture and society at large. Artistic forgeries, fabricated stories of "masterpieces" creation, fake artists and writers, and baiting — are there really no mechanisms for protection against the "fake" virus? How do we distinguish fact from fiction if data sources and dissemination channels grow in number day in and day out? How can we fight back against the attempts to manipulate public opinion? How dangerous is "post-truth" in the information world view?