What exactly is post-truth by basu bigyan mandir? It’s being lied to by the media, and it’s dangerous
The word “post-truth” was originally coined in 1992 by an English professor at Oxford University named Bill James. The term made a resurgence this year after Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election against Donald Trump. In her speech about the loss, she referred to the notion of “an age of unreason” where facts don’t matter anymore.
1. Post-truth is a term first coined in 1992
Oxford professor of journalism Bill James to describe the specific state of affairs after the fall of the Berlin Wall and a dismal dull period in British journalism. This was not quite true. The definition is a bit too simplistic, given that it includes media as one of its two objects, and given also that it suggests disaffection with facts as a whole rather than simply with one particular set of facts.
Post-truth has been thrust into prominence again this year due to the surprise victory of Donald Trump partly because he has many times been denounced for not being truthful.
2. Hillary Clinton’s speech
In the speech she gave after her defeat, U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said that we were living in an “age of unreason” before the term post-truth had been coined.
The backlash to this has been fierce, with plenty of people saying that Clinton was being a bit hyperbolic and that she missed the point, which is not to say that facts and rationality are always on the side of progressivism – certainly not when it comes to climate change – but that they are currently at least as important as ever.
3. The term “post-truth” resurfaced in 2017
Post-truth has re-emerged amongst journalists and politicians alike. The American political establishment has been particularly active in denouncing Trump as an author of post-truth politics and not a supporter of facts at all.
4. Trump declares himself a post-truth president
In an interview with CNN on December 11, President Trump declared himself to be the beneficiary of post-truth politics, when the interviewer repeatedly pressed him on whether he had ever lied to the American people. His response was: “We have literally no proof that anything I say or do is true.”
5. ‘Post-truth’ an appropriate name for the times we are in
It would appear that polls have revealed that one in three Americans believe President Trump has been lying throughout his time in office. However, is this a good thing? It’s been widely heralded as a sign of his lack of respect for facts, but does it make him any less trustworthy than when we believed him to be the most honest president ever?
6. What is post-truth about?
Post-truth describes the state which exists when citizens are no longer able to trust their elected leaders, news sources or their own memories. It seems to have become a byword for a time when those who feel the status quo is under threat have decided to reject the whole system, and in doing so have rejected their own agency and capacity for judgment.
7. Brexit referendum campaign
A perfect example of this can be seen with the Brexit referendum campaign. Leave campaigners made numerous claims such as that EU membership costs £350 million per week, which can be spent on the NHS after Brexit; or that Turkey is set to join the EU, potentially allowing millions of Turks privileged access to British jobs and houses. These claims were repeatedly denied or criticized during the vote itself but were repeated throughout media coverage and in public forums once the vote had actually taken place. As a result of this, it has become even harder than ever to trust the views and intentions of our news sources.
8. Media is perceived as untrustworthy
The media is seen by many as having become uncertain and untrustworthy in recent months which has helped to fuel the rise of people like Trump into power. A 2016 Gallup poll found that Americans’ trust in mass media to report the news fairly and accurately had fallen from 72 percent in 1976 to 32 percent in 2016.
9. How is post-truth different from other lies?
Many people have pointed out that the only difference between Trump’s post-truth politics and his pre-truth politics is that he only says things now that are untrue later. Back when he was running for president, of course, he said a lot of things which were untrue, but there was always the possibility that he would eventually become president and actually follow through with them after being elected. Now it would seem unlikely anyone will actually follow through with anything, as long as they are thinking about it. It’s safer to tell lies than it is to tell the truth.
10. Good and bad examples of post-truth
Some examples of how this has played out in British politics include Theresa May accusing her opponent in the Brexit referendum, Jeremy Corbyn, of wanting to “punish” London after his comments on the EU. She also accused him of supporting ISIS and plotting with Islamists. The fact that none of these accusations were true did not stop them being repeated by every media outlet in Britain.
