It‘s a word we‘ve been needing, if only to make sense of much confusing public discourse.
And while it seems that it‘s actually been around a short while, only recently did the Oxford dictionaries make it an official word. “Post -truth“ is Word of the Year for 2016.
It means that objective, verifiable facts no longer matter. People can choose not to know the facts, or to deliberately ignore them, and base their positions or decisions on emotions and personal belief. As such it‘s more than just a word, it‘s an attitude and a practice.
Of course, the examples of the foreign press for post-truth mainly focused on Brexit and on [Donald] Trump who is said to have “set records for fabrication“ such as: Obama founded ISIS; was not born in the United States; Russia was not going into Crimea; that nobody respects women more than Trump, etc. which should have been merely hilarious.
The “horror clown“ as the German press called him.
But Americans in their numbers didn‘t care about his playing fast and loose with the facts (or his other nasty traits), and voted for the man anyway, letting anger or racist resentment or naive hope underline their choice.
Closer to home, post-truth is also going strong. President Duterte, while in Peru, said about Ferdinand Marcos that “Whether or not Marcos performed worse or better, there‘s no study, no movie about it, just challenges and allegations.“
Apparently, if only there had been a good movie, he might be better informed!
Or maybe he subscribes to the TLDR (too long, didn‘t read) ethic so that the numerous accounts, reports, and studies of Martial Law crimes are just too cumbersome for him to pore over.
But ultimately, it wasn‘t about the facts at all, but more likely, his admiration for strong-man rule.
Post-truth may have started as a behavior of politicians, interest groups, and certainly advertisers.
But it has dangerously come to characterize the behavior of much of the public, that is gullible to emotional, irrational appeal, or too lazy to seek serious sources for facts.
Certain media have contributed to the rise of post-truth: how much rumor, unverified information, false “facts“, ridiculous advertising claims are incessantly directed at readers, listeners, and viewers who develop the habit of uncritically taking it all in.
Who then knows what the truth is anymore, and why care?
A post-truth habit puts us all at risk when bad public policies or decisions are met with general apathy, helplessness, or worse, acquiescence.
What to do about countering post-truth?
Speak up, object, challenge, present true facts, get involved, be an active citizen.
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Author’s email: h.cecilia7@gmail.com
