Continuing the Conversation from the EU Disinfo Conference: The End of Reality as We Knew It Now Published

MediaLab is pleased to announce the publication of The End of Reality as We Knew It: Disinformation, Artificial Intelligence and the new era of fact-checking, a new edited volume coordinated by Daniel Catalan-Matamoros and Carlos Elías, published by Dykinson Editorial (Spain). The book emerged from the Second European Conference on Disinformation and Fact-Checking, held on 29–30 October 2025, and brings together cutting-edge research on the challenges posed by disinformation, synthetic media, and the evolving information environment.

The volume features 43 chapters authored by more than 70 contributors from institutions across 19 countries and five continents, reflecting the truly global nature of contemporary debates on truth, trust, and digital communication. The book is organised into five thematic sections: Living in the Fog: Philosophical and Rhetorical Foundations of Reality; Synthetic Illusions: The Algorithmic Mechanics of Truth Distortion; The Fabric of Realities: Identity, Geopolitics, and Narratives; The Fragile Perception: Cognitive Vulnerability and Public Opinion; and The Reality Lab: Digital Tools and Human Networks in Fact-Checking.

Together, these contributions examine the technological, political, social, and cognitive dimensions of disinformation while highlighting emerging strategies for verification and resilience. The collection offers interdisciplinary perspectives on some of the most pressing challenges facing democratic societies and public communication today.

The publication was supported through funding from MediaLab's National COMSALUD Project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, as well as the Jean Monnet Chair on European Disinformation, and represents another important milestone in the group’s commitment to advancing international research on disinformation, fact-checking, and digital media ecosystems.

Access the book for free here