Making Sense of ‘Post Truth’

The growing use of lies in the “public” speeches made by a certain brand of politicians has drawn attention to the phenomenon of “post truth,” which now seems to have become a buzzword used by those claiming to be on the side of the “truth.” Put differently, in the contemporary scenario, these public speeches seem to be replete with lies rather than truth. Particularly in the case of factual truth, it is doubtlessly replete with lies. But what is more worrying is that these lies, in fact, have acquired wings and fly faster than the truth, which has legs grounded in tragic reality. The element of lies in the speech act flies faster because it is made to ride on bad emotions by a speaker, which in turn is further flared up through fake news. Fake news has taken the place of rumours that are now not needed anymore for spreading lies. Thanks to the arrival of digital technology, which has enabled both good as well as bad social media, fake news makes lies much more influential in shaping public opinion and belief and continues to actively produce devotees or bhakts.

Factual truth has been repeatedly pushed under the carpet by those who are responsible for undermining the moral worth of human beings. Thanks to bad governance, or the complete lack of it, the social vulnerability, particularly of the Dalits, has been exacerbated, and the mismanagement of health infrastructures has caused colossal human misery to many. The denial of such factual truth, however, is just one dimension that illustrates how a speech with lies pushes out truth from the public domain. In the contemporary scenario, there is no reference of factual truth in the public domain. It is needless to mention that the public domain has been overwhelmed by the series of lies spoken by the defenders of the ruling regime. In the present context, we therefore need to ask a couple of lead questions. Does a lie constitute the sole reference point that offers the possibility of defining the phenomenon of “post truth”? Why do supporters of the ruling regime invest more in lies rather than relying on truth and normative values? Put differently, why do the politicians eschew or are averse to facing the question of truth and values?