A kinetic sculpture created by the artistic-scientific duo Alicja Patanowska and Marcin Sawiński takes the form of an exposed industrial printer, approximately one meter tall. The machine prints verified fake news in real time, retrieved from the internet by a custom-programmed computer. Its open structure is entirely intentional—what is typically a hidden, intangible digital process becomes tangible through the “live” mechanical translation of digital fluidity into the materiality of paper.
In this way, fake news—so often legitimized by the ephemeral nature of online media—loses its untouchable and ambiguous quality. Its flickering potential to be either truth or lie is replaced by the realness of a fact subjected to scientific verification.
It is often said that the main weapon in the fight against fake news is the development of social awareness and critical thinking. However, the role of experts in this process is vital. In today’s complex world of technology, politics, and large-scale socio-economic systems, we increasingly rely on trusted guides—journalists and, more recently, fact-checkers—whose knowledge and skills help us navigate the overwhelming, often contradictory, flow of daily information.
FAKE NEWS. ARCHIVE combines the imaginative language of art with scientific and technological tools to mark a possible starting point for rebuilding mutual social trust and understanding the mechanisms behind media disinformation. As the authors point out:
“A fake news story only lives when you share it.”
