5 Jul 2019
Is it Still Possible to Find Out the Truth?
Session 5
“Post-truth” is a situation where objective facts and falsifications coexist, with almost equivalent status. Lies, rumors, and conspiracy theories already prospered before the age of hyper connectivity and social networks, but the latter now provide catalysts for their rapid propagation .
The paradox is that means of information previously lacked, and lies thrived in obscurity . Today, they are ubiquitous. The coexistence of true and false information is correlated with a mistrust in the media, the experts, intellectuals. Above all, there is a misunderstanding as to the meanings of knowledge, opinion and belief: the proponents of “platism flatism” tell us “this is my opinion and it is my right to hold it”. In an economy where diverging opinions are commonplace, they must be clarified. Nonetheless, fake news do exist and they are strengthened by the fact that they circulate within homogeneous groups on social networks. If degenerate freedom of opinion ends up discrediting the objective truth, isn’t democracy in danger?
Contributions
Session 5: Is it Still Possible to Find Out the Truth ?
Between July 20, 1789 – a few days after the Storming of the Bastille – and August 6, 1789 – two days after the abolition of privileges – France, almost in its entirety1, went through an odd and impressive phenomenon known as the Great Fear.
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The unexpected outcomes of the UK’s Brexit referendum and the US presidential election induced a wave of moral panic in many Western newsrooms and political capitals. In 2016, the Oxford English Dictionary declared “post truth” its word of the year...
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