The Post-Truth Era and the Demise of Traditional Journalism Cover Image

A post-truth korszak és a hagyományos újságírás alkonya
The Post-Truth Era and the Demise of Traditional Journalism

Author(s): Csongor Kuti
Subject(s): Media studies, Politics and communication
Published by: UArtPress - Editura Universității de Arte din Tîrgu Mureş - A Marosvásárhelyi Művészeti Egyetem Kiadója
Keywords: media; social media; truth; post-truth; postfactual;

Summary/Abstract: In 2016, the Brexit referendum brought about a new phenomenon, which has been referred ever since as “post-truth politics”. (Conrad et al. 2023) The phenomenon developed into an era, arguably representing the strongest challenge for Enlightenment’s ideals since the Holocaust. Authors have observed that the idea of truth had lost from its significance in media discourse. Whereas truth as a criteria for validating knowledge represents one of the foundations of Enlightenment (Capilla 2020). This article explores the rationale and the possibilities for traditional media after losing its authority as a truth-seeking institution, missing a coherent, consensual and applicable definition of truth (Godler 2019). Traditional media cannot be interpreted anymore as a guardian of truth, but rather as a mediator. In this context, a survival-scenario for traditional media could be to find and present the most reliable and acceptable version of competing narratives (Michailidou and Trenz 2021).

  • Issue Year: XXIV/2023
  • Issue No: 2 (45)
  • Page Range: 61-70
  • Page Count: 10
  • Language: Hungarian
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