We Live in a Post Truth World

‘’We live in a post truth world’’

 The term post truth so commonly rolls off our tongues a mist in conversation about the today’s society that in 2016 it became the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year. Slightly worrying if you ask me, as a young teenager so influenced by the world around me, so hungry to learn, to flourish, will I too be satisfying my appetite with lies and deception?, so unknowingly that I become accustom to this society which has taken over. Ireland once lived under the thumb of the Catholic Church and the State following the rule book to an apparent righteous happy life where our emotions and views were locked away never to be exposed like the scandals committed by those we held our trust in .The term post truth has often being depicted as a problem of the contemporary age but post truth has existed long before the invention of internet although Social media sites have centralised these mistruths. I believe it’s the scandals and betrayals which the many generations before us experienced around the world that gave birth to this post truth phrase from the horrific exposure of America’s work in the Vietnam War to the abuse scandals of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

These horrific exposures about the pillars of states really opened people’s eyes to they were being told and more importantly not told… Trust one of the most important ingredients that glues together a society crumbled in front of the world as the credibility gap spread across America leading to a dysfunctional country of outrage…  The truth was exposed manipulated and disregarded, as strong emotions and opinions stamped the nation, the world of post truth began to spread like wildfire corrupting every aspect of society, now we must face the consequences of this ever growing world.

In the world we live in today the line between truth and deception has become so blurred that you can’t decipher fact from fiction. We live in a society driven by emotions and our casual acceptance with lying .Lying to others has become a challenge, a game, and ultimately a habit as greed and self-preservation has replaced people’s morals. But looking back on history I feel that lies and deception were very common traits although people were ignorant to them, the tables have turned people in today’s society are now ignorant to the truth. We live in an era where post truth is evident in every corner of society fuelled by Social Media and extremist who choke the world with their views, with their truth.

Throughout the 2016 American presidential election and Brexit, Post truth politics rose immensely and was evident throughout many social media platforms becoming Donald Trump’s most effective tool used in his campaign.  In the age of the internet, Social media sites play a very powerful role in shaping the circulation of news and information and is the perfect platform in this post truth era because it is a quick way to convey biased information and opinions, allowing information to be reinforced repeatedly, ultimately convincing people of your truth as Joseph Goebbels once said, “a lie told often enough becomes the truth” We have become helpless and unable to stop the flow of false information and one-sided opinions, we don’t where the truth lies anymore.

Fake news what a powerful contributing factor to this corrupted world we live in, in which we battle against daily. Throughout and indeed after the American presidential election fake news websites played a leading role.  Fake news websites which are multiplying daily spreading like an infectious disease undermine the confidence the people hold toward politics. Donald Trump called out various independent websites branding them as fake news because they exposed his mistruths

Donald Trump has being referred to as ‘’the leading exponent of “post-truth” politics’’ by the Economist paper and has said to have told thousands of lies throughout his campaign in the presidential elections, but he is not alone and neither is he punished. Why? Because the modern day world of politics now revolves around feelings and beliefs not facts, Donald Trump used this throughout his campaign, his supposed facts were exposed time and time again as mistruths but facts hold secondary importance in this world and especially in the world of politics. Once you have convinced enough people of you beliefs and feelings you have won, hard evidence of the great work you have done and work you intend to do is irrelevant.  Another leading participant in Post truth politics is Vladimir Putin who uses tactics of the post truth world to slam his opinion and views in a quick and convenient manner oppressing those who disagree with him.