Although we live in the information era, after decades-long efforts by political and business interests to undermine authoritative institutions, including elections, public agencies, science, independent journalism, and civil society groups, we are also living the disinformation era.

The intentional spread of falsehoods – and attendant attacks on minorities, press freedoms, and the rule of law – challenge the basic norms and values upon which institutional legitimacy and political stability depend on.

So to see the “real” truth behind every single statement, has never been more important. And CNN, being a multinational news-based television channel, needed to tell that: no matter what happens or what people say, CNN will always bring you the fact. The true one.

Historically, the polygraph has been popularly referred to as a lie detector test. In short, polygraph records a number of different bodily responses which can then be used to determine whether someone is telling the truth.

So we had the idea to use the polygraph’s language aesthetic, to build the visual identity of our campaign. We turned the needles’ squiggly lines into journalistic, powerful photos, that showed the truth behind dishonest narratives.

In other words: we reimagined a polygraph so it could do what it’s always done: no matter what people say, it shows you the truth. Just like us.

We deeply researched about the polygraph. We analyzed its waves: their amplitudes and frequencies, trying to find a way they could overlap to form striking images.

These illustrations were formed as if a set of different polygraphs needles had drawn different curved lines. But, when put together, they form the (real) image that tell the true story behind a false narrative.

And with that, we created a proprietary aesthetic, that was used throughout a campaign that disproved (unfortunately) famous fake news.

All the images were based on cnn’s own reporting.

CNN was the first TV station in the country to turn the fight against fake news into a brand communication.