Post-truth, information and emotion

Over recent months a vogue phrase has emerged in domestic and international politics: post truth. We are living it is suggested in an age where politics no longer functions through rational discourse. The facts of the matter are of secondary importance to free-floating opinion. Instead, truth is replaced by demonstrative arguments that appeal to the electorate on a more visceral and emotional level. Associated in particular with the Brexit referendum campaign and with the recent US presidential election, the post truth political discourse is perhaps best exemplified by Michael Gove’s claim on Sky news that “people in this country have had enough of experts” (Gove, 2016). It is characterised by a wilful blindness to evidence, a mistrust of authority, and an appeal to emotionally based arguments often rooted in fears or anxieties