Post-Truth and Political Discourse

Post-Truth and Political Discourse
Author: David Block
Publisher: Palgrave Pivot
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2019-12-10
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9783030131197

In this book David Block draws on analytical techniques from Critical Discourse Studies to critically investigate truth, truths, the propagation of ignorance and post-truth. Focusing on corrupt discourses and agnotology, he explores the role of anti-intellectualism, emotion and social media in the cultural creation, legitimisation and dissemination of ignorance. While encompassing analysis of discourses on Donald Trump, Brexit, climate change and the Alt-Right, Block furthers our understanding of this global phenomena by providing a revealing analysis of political communications relating to corruption scandals involving the Spanish conservative party. Through an innovative theoretical framework that combines critical discourse and discourse historical approaches with nuanced political analysis, he uncovers the rhetorical means by which esoteric truths and misleading narratives about corruption are created and demonstrates how they become, in their turn, corrupt discourses. This original work offers fresh insights for scholars of Discourse Analysis, Sociolinguistics, Politics, Cultural and Communication Studies, and will also appeal to general readers with an interest in political communication and Spanish politics.

Post-Truth and Political Discourse

Post-Truth and Political Discourse
Author: David Block
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2018-09-26
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 303000497X

In this book David Block draws on analytical techniques from Critical Discourse Studies to critically investigate truth, truths, the propagation of ignorance and post-truth. Focusing on corrupt discourses and agnotology, he explores the role of anti-intellectualism, emotion and social media in the cultural creation, legitimisation and dissemination of ignorance. While encompassing analysis of discourses on Donald Trump, Brexit, climate change and the Alt-Right, Block furthers our understanding of this global phenomena by providing a revealing analysis of political communications relating to corruption scandals involving the Spanish conservative party. Through an innovative theoretical framework that combines critical discourse and discourse historical approaches with nuanced political analysis, he uncovers the rhetorical means by which esoteric truths and misleading narratives about corruption are created and demonstrates how they become, in their turn, corrupt discourses. This original work offers fresh insights for scholars of Discourse Analysis, Sociolinguistics, Politics, Cultural and Communication Studies, and will also appeal to general readers with an interest in political communication and Spanish politics.

Post-Truth Rhetoric and Composition

Post-Truth Rhetoric and Composition
Author: Bruce Mccomiskey
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
Total Pages: 59
Release: 2017-11-01
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1607327457

Post-Truth Rhetoric and Composition is a timely exploration of the increasingly widespread and disturbing effect of “post-truth” on public discourse in the United States. Bruce McComiskey analyzes the instances of bullshit, fake news, feigned ethos, hyperbole, and other forms of post-truth rhetoric employed in recent political discourse. The book frames “post-truth” within rhetorical theory, referring to the classic triad of logos, ethos, and pathos. McComiskey shows that it is the loss of grounding in logos that exposes us to the dangers of post-truth. As logos is the realm of fact, logic, truth, and valid reasoning, Western society faces increased risks—including violence, unchecked libel, and tainted elections—when the value of reason is diminished and audiences allow themselves to be swayed by pathos and ethos. Evaluations of truth are deferred or avoided, and mendacity convincingly masquerades as a valid form of argument. In a post-truth world, where neither truth nor falsehood has reliable meaning, language becomes purely strategic, without reference to anything other than itself. This scenario has serious consequences not only for our public discourse but also for the study of composition.

Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy

Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy
Author: Johan Farkas
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2019-08-23
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000507289

Western societies are under siege, as fake news, post-truth and alternative facts are undermining the very core of democracy. This dystopian narrative is currently circulated by intellectuals, journalists and policy makers worldwide. In this book, Johan Farkas and Jannick Schou deliver a comprehensive study of post-truth discourses. They critically map the normative ideas contained in these and present a forceful call for deepening democracy. The dominant narrative of our time is that democracy is in a state of emergency caused by social media, changes to journalism and misinformed masses. This crisis needs to be resolved by reinstating truth at the heart of democracy, even if this means curtailing civic participation and popular sovereignty. Engaging with critical political philosophy, Farkas and Schou argue that these solutions neglect the fact that democracy has never been about truth alone: it is equally about the voice of the democratic people. Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy delivers a sobering diagnosis of our times. It maps contemporary discourses on truth and democracy, foregrounds their normative foundations and connects these to historical changes within liberal democracies. The book will be of interest to students and scholars studying the current state and future of democracy, as well as to a politically informed readership.

Post-Truth, Post-Press, Post-Europe

Post-Truth, Post-Press, Post-Europe
Author: Paul Rowinski
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2020-09-20
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030555712

This book explores whether a beleaguered press in recent years has been developing an emotive, Eurosceptic post-truth rhetoric of its own – competing for attention with populist politicians. These politicians now by-pass the media, talking directly to their publics in blogs, on Twitter and Facebook. In the post-truth age, objective facts are less influential in shaping opinion than appeals to emotion. Audiences congregate around views they share and want to believe. The author presents a critical discourse analysis of the language used by populist politicians online, on Facebook, and subsequently quoted in the press, which highlights how the political rhetoric of Italian and British politicians is often at its most inflammatory around the issue of immigration. The same goes for the press. The Italian case study focuses on media coverage of the 2014 and 2019 European elections and 2018 general election. The British case study examines press reporting of the 2016 UK referendum on EU membership, the 2017 general election, and the September 2019 parliamentary debate immediately following the UK Supreme Court ruling that proroguing of Parliament was illegal. From the picture that emerges, the author argues that journalists need to change how they report, to challenge the post-truthers, holding them to account and pressing them on the facts while also harnessing the emotions of disaffected publics.

Post-Truth

Post-Truth
Author: James Ball
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2017-05-11
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1785902504

2016 marked the birth of the post-truth era. Sophistry and spin have coloured politics since the dawn of time, but two shock events - the Brexit vote and Donald Trump's elevation to US President - heralded a departure into murkier territory. From Trump denying video evidence of his own words, to the infamous Leave claims of £350 million for the NHS, politics has rarely seen so many stretching the truth with such impunity. Bullshit gets you noticed. Bullshit makes you rich. Bullshit can even pave your way to the Oval Office. This 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. 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.

Social Media and the Post-Truth World Order

Social Media and the Post-Truth World Order
Author: Gabriele Cosentino
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 151
Release: 2020-03-16
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030430057

This book discusses post-truth not merely as a Western issue, but as a problematic political and cultural condition with global ramifications. By locating the roots of the phenomenon in the trust crisis suffered by liberal democracy and its institutions, the book argues that post-truth serves as a space for ideological conflicts and geopolitical power struggles that are reshaping the world order. The era of post-truth politics is thus here to stay, and its reach is increasingly global: Russian trolls organizing events on social media attended by thousands of unaware American citizens; Turkish pro-government activists amplifying on Twitter conspiracy theories concocted via Internet imageboards by online subcultures in the United States; American and European social media users spreading fictional political narratives in support of the Syrian regime; and Facebook offering a platform for a harassment campaign by Buddhist ultra-nationalists in Myanmar that led to the killing of thousands of Muslims. These are just some of the examples that demonstrate the dangerous effects of the Internet-driven global diffusion of disinformation and misinformation. Grounded on a theoretical framework yet written in an engaging and accessible way, this timely book is a valuable resource for students, researchers, policymakers and citizens concerned with the impact of social media on politics.

Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy

Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy
Author: Johan Farkas
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2023-12-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1003823726

The new edition of Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy offers an updated overview and critical discussion of contemporary discourses around truth, misinformation, and democracy, while also mapping cutting-edge scholarship. Through in-depth analyses of news articles, commentaries, academic publications, policy briefs, and political speeches, the book engages with the underlying normative ideas that shape how fake news is being addressed across the globe. Doing so, it provides an innovative, critical contribution to contemporary debates on democracy, post-truth, and politics. Three new chapters: Chapter 2 provides an outline of the scholarly field of research into fake news; Chapter 5 examines how issues of fake news and (mis)information have become intertwined with contemporary crisis events; and Chapter 9 presents democratic alternatives to post-truth solutionism. A new foreword by Professor Sarah Banet-Weiser. Fully updated examples and studies from contemporary events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Capitol attack, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Extended discussions on the causes of democratic decline, currently proposed solutions to fake news, and democratic alternatives to our current predicament. Interesting, informative, and well documented, Post-Truth, Fake News and Democracy continues its commitment to understand and engage with the current state and future of democracy.

Positioning and Stance in Political Discourse: The Individual, the Party, and the Party Line

Positioning and Stance in Political Discourse: The Individual, the Party, and the Party Line
Author: Lawrence N. Berlin
Publisher: Vernon Press
Total Pages: 174
Release: 2020-10-06
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 162273954X

Within the political sphere, a political actor is often judged by what he or she says, with their verbal performance often perceived as representative of the individual. Hearers accept that, as individuals, they possess a lifetime of experiences and actions which inform, but may also undermine, their aspirations in gaining political capital. Additionally, as representatives of a political party and its ideology, these actors do not exist in isolation; they are members and, at times, potential candidates of a particular party with its own agenda which may, in turn, cause them to modify their personal speech to align with espoused policies of the party. The various contributions contained in this volume examine the discourse of political actors through the lenses of positionality and stance. Throughout its chapters, clearly defined theoretical perspectives and specified social practices are employed, enabling the authors to elucidate how political actors can situate themselves, their party, and their opponents toward their ostensive public. This book successfully demonstrates how espoused perspectives relate to, or reflect on, the nature of the individual political actor and their truth, the party they represent and its ideology, and the pandering to popular public opinion to gain support and co-operation. This book will hold particular appeal for postgraduate students, researchers, and scholars of discourse studies, pragmatics, political science, as well as other areas in humanities and the social sciences.

Towards a New Paradigm on Post-truth

Towards a New Paradigm on Post-truth
Author: Anam Kuraishi
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2024-07-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1040095291

This book reconceptualises the idea of “post-truth”. It does not limit the domain of post-truth to the production factories of fake news. Drawing on examples such as Trump, War on Terror, anti-vaccination, climate change denial, denial of scientific facts about smoking, and so forth, it analyses the concept through a new theoretical lens which focuses on the specificity of post-truth discourses. Further, the volume develops a guide to operationalise post-truth discourse and makes use of Pakistan as a case study to illustrate post-truth discourses in Pakistani newspapers and implements an experiment to measure the effects of post-truth rhetoric on political attitudes. The volume will be essential reading for students, scholars, and researchers of media and communication studies, politics, and South Asian studies.