Post-truth
Subtitle: how bullshit conquered the world
By: James Ball
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 306
ISBN-13: 9781785902147
Subjects: Truthfulness and falsehood; Political aspects; Deception; Propaganda; Political ethics
Description: "2016 marked the dawn of the post-truth era. The year saw two shock election results, each of which has the potential to reshape the world: the UK's decision to leave the EU, and the elevation of Donald Trump to the office of US President. The campaigns highlighted many of the same issues in their home countries: social division, anger at the elite, anti-immigration sentiment and more - but, more than anything, they heralded an unprecedented rise of bullshit. Sophistry and spin have been part of politics since the dawn of time. But the modern era sees millions being fed false reports that Hillary Clinton ordered 30,000 guillotines to use on her opponents following her victory, while Trump claims he 'never said that' about speeches recorded on video, and the Leave campaign's divisive claims about GBP350 million extra funding for the NHS and 'swarms' of new EU immigrants from Turkey prove pivotal in a referendum. Post-truth is bigger than fake news and bigger than social media. It's about the slow rise of a political, media and online infrastructure that has devalued truth. Bullshit gets you noticed. Bullshit makes you rich. Bullshit can even pave your way to the Oval Office. This is the story of bullshit: what's being spread, who's spreading it, why it works - and what we can do to tackle it." -- Provided by publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Part 1. The power of bullshit. Trumped : how the Donald won America; title: Brexit : taking back control; title: Part 2. Who's spreading the shit? Politicians; title: Old media; title: New media; title: Fake media; title: Social media...; title: ...And you; title: Part 3. Why bullshit works. Why we fall for it; title: Why it's profitable; title: A bullshit culture; title: Part 4. How to stop bullshit. Debunking the debunkers; title: Stopping the spread.