In a world where trust in facts is becoming a luxury, the role of intellectuals and scientists has never been more important. Are we still able to distinguish reliable information from manipulation and disinformation? And what forces shape our collective opinions in an era of constant content overload?
As fake news travels faster than verifiable data, science plays a vital role—not only as a source of knowledge, but also as a tool for verification and a compass for public debate. Yet how can we preserve the authority of facts when they are so often overshadowed by emotion and oversimplification?
These challenges were the focus of a discussion between two scholars from the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn: Professor Marek Melnyk and Professor Arkadiusz Dudziak.
“Freedom of speech is one of the fundamental values of democracy. However, freedom of speech as an ethical value, does not exist in isolation. There can be no freedom of speech without other ethical values. There is no freedom of speech without truth. There is no freedom of speech without the value of honesty. And there is no freedom of speech without responsibility for what we communicate to others,” said Professor Dudziak.
Professor Melnyk warned: “The goal of Russian disinformation is to fragment society and weaken it morally. It also aims to turn Poles against their own state and authorities. Russia also strives to break up the European Union. Their vision is a Europe divided, with countries set against one another—a Europe without the European Union.”
Professor Marek Melnyk is a scholar of religion, specialising in the history of Central and Eastern Europe, culture, and Polish–Ukrainian relations.
Professor Arkadiusz Dudziak focuses on the anthropological and axiological aspects of social and intercultural communication.
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