‘Post-truth’ politics: A threat to American democracy?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14288/cjur.v5i1.188915Keywords:
post-truth politics, communication, politicsAbstract
Since the 2016 United States presidential election, the spread of misinformation, ‘fake news’, and ‘alternative facts’ dominating the public narrative seems to have become so prolific that many scholars, news agencies, and world leaders claim that we are living in a ‘post-truth’ political world, where facts and evidence have become unimportant compared to an individual’s feeling on any particular subject. However, in this article I suggest that modern democracies like the United States are constantly being shaped and challenged by technological advances, shifting ideologies, and global events. By analysing these factors one can better understand how Western society, particularly in the United States, has arrived at this post-truth era, what influence this is having on the democratic process, as well as the relationship between the public and social media in order for our democratic system to evolve.
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