Post-truth, or just not the one we were expecting?

During 2016, the ‘fake news’ phenomenon became one of the most talked about issues relating to journalism and the internet, and its implications on democracy are still very much at the heart of debate today.

However, as Tom Crewe explored recently in the London Review of Books, the notion that we are now living in a ‘post truth’ era implies something which shouldn’t be taken as gospel – that there has ever been one ‘truth’ that the public, and the media, have agreed on.

When the tabloid press failed to foresee the route the general election would go down, it doesn’t, as many have suggested, show that tabloid influence on voting intention is necessarily waning (although with dwindling readership across the board, this could also be true). Every major outlet was either overwhelmingly negative in their coverage of Corbyn, or, warmed to him only as the polls did. Had the public voted in line with the newspapers, as is often seen to be the case, Theresa May would have woken up to a seismic victory on 9 June.

The fact that she didn’t, then points towards the idea that the position taken in the media, by both left and right leaning outlets, is based on an intrinsically Westminster-centric outlook. Their failure to engage in a reality beyond Westminster led to their predictions about the election because the ‘truth’ as they saw it, was different to the one across the rest of the country.

Interestingly, where the traditional press failed during the general election, new internet-based news sources thrived. The reach of independent blogs such as Another Angry Voice showed that it is no longer the role of only traditional media to facilitate information between politicians and the public and, as new players emerge in this field, their input serves to highlight the broad and complex realities which exist beyond Westminster.

This brings the idea of a ‘post truth’ era into question. In a world where chancellors become editors and editors make career moves to Downing Street, did the referendum and general election kick-start the ‘post-truth’ era, or was it just not the truth that was expected?