SR: Post Truth

 This blog reflects my understanding of the word 'Post truth' and my views on the word with appropriate illustration.

It was named word of the year in 2016 by the Oxford Dictionary where it is defined as;

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

Synonyms:

Alleged, Doubtful, Allegedly, Unfounded, Supposed.

Post Truth refers to distinct historical, social, and political relations and forms especially associated with 21th century communication technologies and cultural practices.

Post Truth is not a novel concept. All who have read George Orwell's 1984 can readily imagine a world where a powerful ministry of the truth commands allegiance to contradictory statements such as 'freedom is slavery'. The belief that truth exists can also wither when, 20th century philosopher Hannah Arendt explained, those in power repeat lies so frequently as to overwhelm the public's capacity to know what is true or false.

Examples of Post-Truth:

- Demonatisation in India.    (2016).

- Britan left the European   union (2016).

- 45th triumph of Donald Trump.

The prominent examples suggest that Post Truth is a top down phenomenon coming from politicians eager to maintain power by deceiving the public. However, today's post-truth as the reaction to COVID-19 vividly illustrates, also comes from the bottom up. It is not just that desperate people grasp at rumours, such as the claim that blowing a hair dryer up one's nose can relieve COVID-19 symptoms; it is also that the current environment fosters the sense tha individuals need give no more credence to information grounded in the best available scientific evidence than to whatever seems useful or feels right. Even worse is the perception that there is no objective 'truth' and so no need to search for it or to test claims against it. Rather, truth feels fleeting; claims are more or less persuasive based not on the accumulation of rigorous science or the credibility and expertise of the speaker but on the celebrity, political party, or intuition of speaker and listener.

I would like to share another example like that in Prime minister Narendra Modi's speech at a rally at latur in Maharashtra on April 9, dragging the Indian Army once again into the BJP's campaign for votes, certainly exploited the people's trust. Modi said "I want to ask the first- time voter, can your vote be dedicated to those soldiers who conducted the air strike on Balakot in Pakistan? Can your frist vote be dedicated to those soldiers who were killed in Pulwama attack?"

Modi's latur speech heralds the advent of post Truth politics in our country. Nobel laureate Harold Pinter once said that majority of politicians are interested not in truth but in power and in the maintenance of that power.

Some images here that..

Thank you!!