On May 19, 2025, as part of the Open Government Week initiated by the Steering Committee of the international Open Government Partnership, first- to third-year students of the 035 Philology programme took part in a special event organized by the Department of Foreign Philology. The purpose of the event was to discuss the film Democracy on Screen: Watch. Reflect. Discuss.

The programme was centred on a 13-minute film, “The Fake Mayor”, a discussion event. This short film highlights the real danger posed to democracy by ‘deepfakes’ created by artificial intelligence. The film shows how a fabricated recording of London Mayor Sadiq Khan (during the 2024 elections) went viral and triggered a wave of far-right mobilisation, illustrating how quickly online disinformation can wreak chaos in the real world. Before watching the film, the students discussed their media habits. After watching the film, the conversation moved on to deeper questions about ‘deepfakes’ and their influence on public opinion, how disinformation campaigns affect democratic processes, why it is important to verify the authenticity of digital content and how people can protect themselves from being misled by disinformation fakes, what measures governments can take to protect democracy from disinformation driven by artificial intelligence.

The event was a valuable reminder that digital media and democracy are closely intertwined. It emphasised the need for media literacy and critical thinking: always check what you see online, as false content can spread quickly and cause real harm.

The film is available for a limited time only. If you care about the future of democracy and the threat of disinformation online, watch it while you can!

Link to the event video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E4zaXx6ZNh5e-NU5c0oeusc9LTO-yxwS/view?usp=sharing