Problematizing ‘truth’ and ‘falsehood’ in a Contemporary Media Landscape

Abstract

Digital media provides invaluable opportunities for youngsters to get involved in and interact with popular and participatory culture. It has the potential to enable them to develop their cultural competencies and hone their social skills. Nonetheless, it has been increasingly assumed that social media networks can turn out to be counterproductive when they are utilized as a vehicle for spreading falsehood, prejudice, slander, rumor, and disguised propaganda, all of which fall under the rubric of misinformation and disinformation. Be that as it might, in a post-truth era, fact and fiction intermingle in such a way that the media consumer is required to rigorously vet and reflect on any bit of news to see how much reliable it is. This cannot be done unless critical thinking is adopted as one among other components of analytical strategies.  The contemporary literature points out that dissemination of falsehood is much more rampant today than ever before. This paper is an attempt not to disclose some deleterious effects of “falsehood” on “truth”, but to problematize the binary logic in contemporary media discourse. “Post-truth” itself is imbued with blind spots and moments of contradictions which dismantle the spuriously adequate grounds on which it stands. Inspired by Fredrick Nietzsche’s perspectivism and post-foundationalist theories of Michel Foucault, Jacque Derrida, Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, this paper questions the conceptual clarity and stability of discursive categories exhorting our students to navigate this intricate post-truth wilderness armed with critical thinking to become not only savvy media consumers, but also vigilant critics.