Epistemology is the study of knowledge itself. It is a very broad area of philosophy, but much of it is concerned with how we justify beliefs and claims as being true, correct information.

If the information age has taught us anything, it’s that misinformation is everywhere. Whilst it’s never been easier to find information so quickly, the mass-media landscape is full of deception. Facts can easily be taken out of context and spun to favour a certain viewpoint or agenda, and lies can easily be spread when coming from a source that people deem to be“trustworthy”. You know what I’m talking about – the kind of articles your Nan shares on Facebook after only reading the headline.

In a recent survey, 1 in 4 people in the UK said that they completely distrust the mainstream media, 62% said they got all their news from social media, and 1 in 5 said that they had shared something online they later found out to be untrue.

I just made all of those statistics up. But you believed me, didn’t you?