Post-truth refers to a situation characterized by widespread disputes over public truth claims. The term became prominent in 2016 and reflects concerns about how the changing media landscape has affected how societies process information and form their opinion about reality.
The concept goes beyond simple lying or misinformation. Post-truth attempts to undermine the very notion of truth – that experts can be trusted, facts can be disentangled from fiction and truth is knowable or even matters.
Notes
- People’s emotional reactions and personal beliefs often carry more weight than factual evidence.
- Traditional authorities (experts, institutions, established media) have lost much of their credibility.
- Nearly half of people in a 2024 study couldn’t distinguish between factual claims and opinions better than random chance Post-truth politics.
- Information is increasingly filtered through ideological lenses rather than objective criteria.