Stop talking about fake news! |
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Authors: | Joshua Habgood-Coote |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol, Bristol, UKjosh.habgood-coote@bristol.ac.ukhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3427-3325 |
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Abstract: | Since 2016, there has been an explosion of academic work that fixes its subject matter using the terms ‘fake news’ and ‘post-truth’. In this paper, I argue that this terminology is not up to scratch, and that academics and journalists ought to completely stop using the terms ‘fake news’ and ‘post-truth’. I set out three arguments for abandonment. First, that ‘fake news’ and ‘post-truth’ do not have stable public meanings, entailing that they are either nonsense, context-sensitive, or contested. Secondly, that these terms are unnecessary, because we already have a rich vocabulary for thinking about epistemic dysfunction. Thirdly, I observe that ‘fake news’ and ‘post-truth’ have propagandistic uses, meaning that using these terms legitimates anti-democratic propaganda, and risks smuggling bad ideology into conversations. |
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Keywords: | Fake news post-truth philosophy of language nonsense context-sensitivity metalinguistic negotiation propaganda applied philosophy of language |
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