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"post-truth&quo t; international word of the year

(61 Posts)
whitewave Wed 16-Nov-16 06:38:29

Defined as an adjective relating to circumstances where objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than emotional appeal.

This follows the votes on Brexit and Trump

We are unfortunately (my words) in a post-truth era

Morgana Fri 18-Nov-16 14:46:13

I looked up/googled post truth after I saw it mentioned on GN a couple of days ago. I was horrified at how it was made out to be some sort of scientific concept. What is happening to the world?

durhamjen Fri 18-Nov-16 14:18:09

Anyone who disagreed with him could be visited by Voldemort.

durhamjen Fri 18-Nov-16 14:16:35

Not sure about Trump to conduct all international diplomacy through twitter. That might actually be true.

durhamjen Fri 18-Nov-16 14:13:33

newsthump.com/2016/11/17/living-in-a-post-apocalyptic-wasteland-isnt-too-bad-manchester-residents-reassure-americans/

durhamjen Fri 18-Nov-16 14:11:44

I like the one about Trump asking Voldemort to be his chief of staff, after Sauron turned it down.

GillT57 Fri 18-Nov-16 14:04:34

Yes, DJ, sorry thick thumbs! Love News thump. Latest is 'First batch of Eu savings to be pi**ed away on Queen's new curtains' grin

Sheilasue Fri 18-Nov-16 13:25:26

I love the Obamas they are a lovely couple.

durhamjen Fri 18-Nov-16 13:17:33

Explanations of all the new words in the Oxford Dictionary.

www.ourlittleearth.com/2016/11/5180/

I've never heard of quite a few of them.

durhamjen Fri 18-Nov-16 13:07:00

They really need to take Trump's tweet account away from him - again.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/18/donald-trump-takes-credit-saving-ford-factory-not-closing

Beammeupscottie Fri 18-Nov-16 13:02:57

DD

By sexed up I mean made palatable for the masses. I think the term in now a part of modern parlance. The way I interpret it is that people want to to stirred. They want an orgasmic sensation; even from the most mundane.

durhamjen Fri 18-Nov-16 13:01:33

Did you mean newsthump, GillT?
newsthump.com/2016/11/17/santa-could-be-barred-from-delivering-in-the-uk-after-brexit/

Santa will not deliver to UK after Brexit? Better make sure our grandchildren have stopped believing in him before then!

rosesarered Fri 18-Nov-16 12:45:48

Excellent post Kim19 smile

durhamjen Fri 18-Nov-16 12:41:17

Ask Boris.

Gaggi3 Fri 18-Nov-16 12:38:45

How can Turkey possibly be considered for EU membership when they are still, in the South, girls who have no access to education?

durhamjen Fri 18-Nov-16 12:23:42

Johnson said this week that the EU should let Turkey join even though they want to bring back capital punishment.
Not sure if I want him to get his way on that or not.
On second thoughts that would be punishing the EU, not Johnson, so no, I don't.

daphnedill Fri 18-Nov-16 12:10:50

So if nobody believed the £350 million, why did Vote Leave run with it? Why did I see numerous posts on different sites, where people repeated the lie when trying to persuade people that leaving the EU was the right thing to do? I'm afraid that some people did believe it. They also believed the stuff about Turkey joining the EU and endlessly repeat that EU accounts have never been audited, that there's about to be an EU army and countless other myths. Are there really so many people 'not in their right mind'?

GillT57 Fri 18-Nov-16 12:06:47

New Thump is a brilliant site to follow, parodies of news stories which are close to the truth. Example today: photo of Michael Gove, and underneath is written 'Petition to have Michael Gove cryogenically frozen reaches 9 million.Best site by far.

daphnedill Fri 18-Nov-16 12:05:22

How do you know that, beammeupscottie? I haven't a clue how many people are like me, but I don't watch the news because it's sexed up.

durhamjen Fri 18-Nov-16 11:58:27

www.indy100.com/article/bookshop-sign-2016-apocalypse-current-affairs-sums-up-year-hilarious-7418866

The comments afterwards are interesting as well.

Simon Kellner wrote an article in the i about post-truth politics, saying it is an adjective which perfectly describes a promise made during an election campaign that is not redeemable.
The promise about the NHS was post-truth, in other words, a lie.
Apparently post-truth has been in use for a decade, but it is in the dictionary because its usage has spiked by 2000% over the past year.

Beammeupscottie Fri 18-Nov-16 11:13:12

If news isn't sexed up, few people will watch it.

Kim19 Fri 18-Nov-16 11:11:42

Well...... I like to put together my past experience of political promises and a bit of common sense. We cling to this '350 million daily for the NHS'. Honestly, who in their right mind ever believed that? Honestly? Also, we have this group of believers of whatever persuasion telling us EXACTLY what will happen in the future. And some of us believe their predictions. Seriously? Just think of the unforeseen problems and changes in our daily lives and then move that to a worldwide scene. Whew! My philosophy is not to worry about what I can't see but to try to my very best to deal with the daily dilemmas that keep happening to me. NOT AT ALL all bad I must add. Life can be very kind. Yippee.

daphnedill Fri 18-Nov-16 11:10:44

The so-called 'fake news' are much worse than the BBC. They look like real news websites, but their content is nothing more than fairy tales. There are some 'spoof' websites around, which are intended to be funny or satirical, but there are others which are much more dangerous.

I agree with you about the BBC. I don't often watch the TV news these days, but I do read the BBC website and I just don't understand how they think their highlighted stories are important. I wish they'd leave the tabloid stuff to tabloids.

wilygran Fri 18-Nov-16 10:59:30

Bravo! Well said! Disinformation rules these days :-(

Yorkshiregel Fri 18-Nov-16 10:53:13

Look no further than the BBC if you want fake news. Remember the Referendum lies that were told by both sides? They think the British people are fools and treat us as such. It is very hard to sort out what is actually truth and what is not.

I also do not like the way the news is presented these days ie chirpy 20 year olds sat around a table chatting about trivial things and dressing it up as news. First thing in the morning that is enough to drive you crackers, especially if you are trying to get everyone off to work/school. Give me ONE presenter (not two or more) to read the news and I am happy. I just want to know what is going on in the world, I DO NOT want to listen to high pitched voices talking about someone's book or film.

daphnedill Fri 18-Nov-16 10:49:18

And so say all of us!

Does that mean that you are you going to stop telling us all what wiil happen, even when you haven't any more clue than the rest of us, roses?