Make Believe: Encounters with Misinformation
- Anita Brown-Major
- Apr 29
- 2 min read
In a groundbreaking and truly special event, The State Library Victoria (Melbourne, Australia) presents an opportunity for people to “question, navigate and engage with information more critically and confidently.”
We are thrilled to be involved in Make Believe: Encounters with Misinformation and congratulate the curators of this brilliant exhibition. If you happen to be visiting Melbourne this year, please drop into State Library Victoria to indulge in this fascinating collection of case studies.
“Collectively, these case studies ask: how do our own perspectives and experiences influence what we accept to be 'true'? and why do we keep falling for misinformation? At the same time, they reveal how curiosity and thoughtful research can help us question, navigate and engage with information more critically and confidently.”
State Library Victoria, Melbourne.
“Misinformation filters our view of the world. Whether it arises from simple mistakes, misinterpretations or deliberate deception, it can profoundly influence our thoughts, opinions and actions. One of the most harmful examples in Australia's history is terra nullius, the false claim that the land was uninhabited, which was used to justify the dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of their lands.”
State Library Victoria, Melbourne.
CASE STUDY 3: Anatomy, biases and understanding the clitoris
We invite you to watch this short video, created by State Library Victoria, featuring the incredible Professor Helen O’Connell and Dr Jennifer Hayes along with our very own Anita Brown-Major. To be in the same room as Professor O’Connell and Dr Hayes is truly mind-blowing! This video describes the biases affecting the anatomical understanding of the clitoris.
“Despite having more access to information than ever before, we continue to be seduced and duped by mistruths. These falsehoods can completely deceive us or subtly draw us in, even when we know they are untrue. They appeal to our biases and beliefs, using beauty to beguile us and making it easier to ignore uncomfortable truths.”
State Library Victoria, Melbourne
