Understanding the Post-Truth World
To enhance critical thinking and media literacy among students and to strengthen their minds against misinformation repeatedly found in digital media, Dr. Dilip Barad from the Department of English at MKBU has assigned this blog task to the students. Below are the links to his blogs.
Introduction
There has never been a more challenging period than today, when it is extremely difficult to differentiate the information on the basis of fact, primarily due to the rise of digital media. Our attention span has shortened, and the capacity to think critically has diminished. This phenomenon has been encapsulated by the term “post-truth”—a word that has come to define the spirit of our times. The Oxford Dictionary recognized "post-truth" as the word of the year for 2016.
The Origin and Background of the Term
The word post-truth is made up of two parts. The prefix post- comes from Latin and means "after" or "following." The word truth comes from Old English treowp, which is related to ideas like faith, loyalty, and honesty. So, in a literal sense, post-truth means "after truth." It suggests a time or condition in which truth is no longer central or important in shaping people's beliefs or actions.
“After much discussion, debate, and research, the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2016 is post-truth – an adjective defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’,” the Oxford Dictionaries website announced.
Context of 2016 Word of the Year
The word has a much earlier origin though it became widely known after 2016. “After much discussion, debate, and research, the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2016 is post-truth – an adjective defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’,” the Oxford Dictionaries website announced
Explaining the choice, it said the concept has been in existence for the past decade, but “Oxford Dictionaries has seen a spike in frequency this year in the context of the EU referendum in the UK and the presidential election in the US. It has also become associated with a particular noun, in the phrase "post-truth politics”.
The website traces the first use of the term to a 1992 essay by the late Serbian-American playwright Steve Tesich in The Nation magazine. “Reflecting on the Iran-Contra scandal and the Persian Gulf War, Tesich lamented that ‘we, as a free people, have freely decided that we want to live in some post-truth world."
How Post-Truth Affects Opinion Today
In a post-truth world, what feels right or what fits with what you already believe often matters more than the actual facts.
Emotions over Fact
Instead of carefully checking facts, people might be swayed by stories or headlines that make them feel strong emotions (like anger, fear, excitement, or pride). If something makes them feel good or bad about an idea, they might believe it, even if it's not true.
Confirmation Bias
We all tend to look for and believe information that confirms what we already think. In a post-truth world, it's easier to find information (even false information) that supports our existing views, making us less likely to question them.
The Role of Digital Platforms (WhatsApp, Social Media, Influencers)
Over the years, WhatsApp has gained vast influence all over the world. Nowadays, it has become easy to manipulate public opinion using WhatsApp. From political parties to mega companies, they try to divert the public's opinion from facts to emotions. Emotionally appealing content feeds the public's intellect and forces them to choose a comfortable lie over the truth. The term 'WhatsApp University' became popular when people started taking these data and information as truth.
With the growing use of social media all over the world, it has become a source of news consumption for many people. Social media influencers play a significant role in shaping public opinion. They also harm society by taking a stance in the domain and discipline without having any knowledge of that course of action.
With the growing use of social media all over the world, it has become a source of news consumption for many people. Social media influencers play a significant role in shaping public opinion. They also harm society by taking a stance in the domain and discipline without having any knowledge of that course of action.
Examples of Post-Truth
Personally, there are many epistles that could be called post-truth. Donald Trump, the president of the U.S., is the prime example of post-truth, as he won the 2025 election entirely based on emotions and false claims. Another major example is the Ind-Pak conflict, where both sides' media outlets bombarded the public with false news, extraordinary claims, and propaganda.
One educated person congratulated Rishi Sunak for being elected as the Prime Minister of England three months ago, which is a prime example of how easily people can be manipulated ang misinformed. Just to be the first to know, this fear of missing out has shrunk the critical ability to cross-check the information we receive from social media. The habit of fact-checking and critically evaluating the information is at its lowest.
Need for Critical Thinking and Media Literacy
Understanding post-truth is crucial. When facts matter less than feelings, it makes it hard to make smart choices about health, politics, and daily life. To fight this, we need critical thinking - learning to question information, check who shared it, and spot hidden agendas. We also need media literacy - understanding how online content is made and shared. These skills are our best tools to navigate the huge amount of information online, spot fakes, and become responsible digital citizens who help spread truth, not lies.
Conclusion
The Covid-19 pandemic saw the surge of post-truth and misinformation lead many people to severe consequences. Every influencer and media outlet claimed to have the remedy for the Covid-19, but these were just false claims and misleading information.
References
Oxford University Press. Word of the Year 2016. Oxford Languages – Word of the Year, 2016, https://languages.oup.com/word-of-the-year /2016/. Accessed 13 July 2025.
Barad, Dilip. “Post‑truth: The Word of the Year 2016.” Dilip Barad | Teacher Blog, 14 Jan. 2017, https://blog.dilipbarad.com/2017/01/post-truth -word-of-year-2016.html. Accessed 13 July 2025.
Barad, Dilip. “Beware of Histofluencers.” Dilip Barad | Teacher Blog, 17 Nov. 2023, https://blog.dilipbarad.com/2023/11/beware-of -histofluencers.html. Accessed 13 July 2025.
No comments:
Post a Comment