Post-truth and democracy: Part 1

Johan Farkas mapped post-truth discourses comprehensively and subjected them to a searching examination in his book with Jannick Schou. In this episode and the previous one, we touch upon the understanding of democracy that is implicit in the mainstream post-truth narrative, the predicament and role of journalism, social media and filter bubbles, the lessons of Covid-19 and a host of related issues. Highlights Regulating social media and big-tech Role of the elites How discourses influence politics A critique of the information-deficit model What Covid-19 tells us about science, truth and democracy Links See my article in The Philosophical Salon for links to many of the sources discussed in the episode.   Post-truth, Fake news and Democracy: Mapping the Politics of Falsehood. Johan Farkas and Jannick Schou. Routledge.

Johan Farkas mapped post-truth discourses comprehensively and subjected them to a searching examination in his book with Jannick Schou. In this episode and the one that follows, we touch upon the understanding of democracy that is implicit in the mainstream post-truth narrative, the predicament and role of journalism, social media and filter bubbles, the lessons of Covid-19 and a host of related issues. Highlights Democracy is not first and foremost about truth The real crisis of liberal democracy The predicament and role of journalism Filter bubbles and echo chambers: real or metaphorical? Misdiagnosis leads to the wrong remedy Links See my article in The Philosophical Salon for links to many of the sources discussed in the episode.   Post-truth, Fake news and Democracy: Mapping the Politics of Falsehood. Johan Farkas and Jannick Schou. Routledge.

Catherine Happer has sought to use her understanding of the sociology of the media to explore the post-truth narrative ever since it emerged. In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss the role of journalism and academia in driving the narrative, the issue of public trust in the media, modes of media engagement, and much more. Highlights Public trust, journalism and the emergence of the post-truth story Possible reasons for the uncritical adoption of the notion Modes of media engagement, role of elites Social media: past, present and future Dangers of universalizing the US experience Links See my article in The Philosophical Salon for links to many of the sources discussed in the episode.   The post-truth crisis of mainstream media (Catherine Happer, Research in Sociology, University of Glasgow)  

Kathrin Braun was amongst the first scholars to subject the notion of post-truth to critical scrutiny. In this conversation, we discuss how post-truth serves as an ordering device, what it tells us about the self-understanding of liberal elites, what was problematic about the March For Science movement and much more. Highlights Questioning the fact/value and other dichotomies Problematizing the March for Science Exploring the roots of the mainstream post-truth narrative Links See my article in The Philosophical Salon for links to many of the sources discussed in the episode.  Critical policy studies and the politics of post-truth politics (Kathrin Braun, Critical Policy Studies) Unpacking post-truth (Kathrin Braun, Critical Policy Studies)

In mid-to-late 2016, an emerging narrative began to claim that we had entered a world in which truth no longer carried the weight and significance that it once did. This short episode presents a brief introduction to, and criticism of, the notion of post-truth. It serves as a useful background for the next three episodes, in which I interview three academics about various facets of post-truth. Highlights The mainstream take on post-truth Problematizing the narrative Critical takes What now? Links and additional information Putting the brakes on the post-truth bandwagon My article in The Philosophical Salon, with links to many of the sources discussed in the episode. Oxford Dictionaries word of the year 2016