Post-Truth - Sunday Reading

Here, I am trying to share my views on the word Post Truth. Activity given by Dilip Barad sir as the part of Sunday reading. To visit Dilip Barad sir's blog on post truth please click here...

English is a universal language which is accepted worldwide as a tool of communication. English is accepted universally because of its flexibility, which includes many words each year. So, Post-truth is a new word, which has been chosen as the word of the year for 2016 by the Oxford English Dictionary. Post-truth is a compound word which is made from the mixing of two words, creating a new meaning. The prefix post means "after" and word truth means "fact". The word post truth describes a situation in which the importance of actual facts is denied by appeals to emotions and personal prejudice in influencing public opinion.

Meaning of the Word

According to the Oxford Dictionary-

"Relating to or denoting  circumstances in which objective facts are less  influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary-

"Relating to a situation in which people are more likely to accept an argument based on their emotion and belief rather than one based on facts."

So the word Post-truth also considers similar words like post factual or post reality. Post truth is not simply the opposite of truth but it has hybrid and recombinant qualities that mix in different ways and confuse its receiver like the reflection in the mirror.

History of the word

According to Oxford Dictionaries, the late Serbian-American playwright Steve Tesich first used the term Post truth in a 1992 essay in the essay The Nation. After that in 2004 Ralph Keyes used the term "Post truth era" in his book by the same title. The term became widespread during the campaign for the 2016 presidential election in the United states.Some people view its roots even in the 2nd World War in which Joseph Goebbels said...

             "A lie told once remain a lie,

               But a lie told a thousand

                  times become truth."

Post-truth Society

Nowadays we are living in  a post-truth society with half knowledge and misinformation and the ultimate result is chaos in society and in our surroundings. In post truth society facts matter less and emotions are exploited to gain an advantage politically and socially.

Here, Everything seemed as right and true which presented on the screen within a few flashes and images. Whatsapp, facebook, twitter and other social media platforms are taken for granted and we believe in everything blindly without verifying it.

For example:-

India has attained a unique distinction of having more fake news than any other country in the world. Whatsapp has become a very dangerous thing in India. It is easy to use and you don't have to stand in a queue to register for it or to create a group. What you need is an Android mobile and cheap internet pack. Social media has taken the lives of many people, including all religions and also intellectuals, writers and journalists.

Fake and False there is conceptual error when we talk about fake news it is that there is an original piece of news which is being faked. However it is largely about false news, news that does not exist or perhaps exist in a totally different form.

      "This is a real news story

       about fake news stories."

Thank you...