JOURNALIST, former TV news presenter - and self-confessed “grumpy old man” - Michael Buerk hit out at the dark side of social media when he gave the Sir Douglas Glover Memorial Lecture at Giggleswick School.

The veteran broadcaster bemoaned the rise of fake news and the role of Facebook and other social media platforms in creating what he saw as a false reality where nobody was acting as gatekeeper for the authenticity and accuracy of information. In a speech which was intended to spark debate, he warned young people to be aware of the flipside to technological progress and gave a witty and passionate commentary of how the world had changed in his lifetime - questioning whether change was always for the best.

And he highlighted his misgivings on modern art, reality TV, American gun laws and changing news values.

He said: “I am a grumpy old man. I say these things to start an argument or a conversation.” In a question and answer session at the end, sixth formers and invited guests quizzed him on aspects of his lecture. He is also known as the journalist who broke the story of the Ethiopian famine in 1984. The school regularly invites a well-known figure to deliver a speech to pupils and invited guests. Past lecturers have included Sir Alex Ferguson, Kate Adie, Chris Patten and Lord (Melvyn) Bragg.