BBC director-general Lord Tony Hall has said the world is in the grip of the biggest attack on truth since Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s.
The broadcast boss compared the current prominence of fake news as similar to the misinformation and propaganda spread in the decade which saw the rise of facism.
Speaking at the Global Conference For Media Freedom in London on Thursday, Hall said: “An assault on truth is an assault on democracy.
“We are now in the midst of the biggest assault on truth, in my view, since the 1930s.
“All those who believe in integrity in news must work together to turn the tide.”
Hall has held his current position at the BBC since 2013 and was previously director of news at the broadcaster from 1993 to 2001.
Hall said that the BBC had a role to play in battling fake news and press repression across the world.
He said: “We are ready to do even more to promote freedom of expression world-wide.”
At the same event and echoing Hall’s views, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney added Donald Trump has fanned the flames of hostility against journalists.
She spoke as a Foreign Office special envoy on media freedom, at the invite of Conservative leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt.
The UK government has recently increased its efforts to tackle so-called fake news.
A report into disinformation by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee published last July warned “democracy is at risk” thanks to the “relentless targeting of hyper-partisan views”.
In its response, the government said it wanted to “reduce the impact of disinformation on UK society and our national interests, in line with our democratic values”.
Last week, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced a package of £18 million over three years to counter disinformation and fake news across Eastern Europe and strengthen independent media in the Western Balkans.
The funding from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) will support freedom of expression and independent local voices in the Western Balkans to boost the creation of balanced, non-biased content.