post-truth
Facts matter less
Post-truth describes a climate in which emotional appeals and personal beliefs matter more than objective facts in shaping public opinion.
The term gained currency during the 2016 Brexit referendum and U.S. presidential election: We're living in a post-truth era.
It typically modifies nouns like politics, world, or society, suggesting that factual accuracy has become secondary to what feels true or confirms existing biases.
Intentional deceptive falsehoods
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- falsehoodDeliberate untrue statement
- hoaxDeliberate deception for effect
- fabricationDeliberately untrue statement
deception · distortion · spin · mislead · canard · misrepresent · rumor · falsification
Politics favoring ordinary citizens
- tribalismIn-group loyalty, out-group hostility
- polarizationSeparation into opposing extremes
- demagogueryManipulative political rhetoric
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
Brexit · Trump · strongman · nationalist
Sensationalized content for traffic
- sensationalismOverhyped news coverage
- punditryExpert commentary profession
- infotainmentNews-entertainment media blend
- hyperpartisanExtremely politically biased
tabloid · algorithm · viral · bothsidesism · amplification · doomscrolling
Context-dependent truth doctrine
- subjectivityPersonal viewpoint coloring perception
- constructivismActive knowledge-building theory
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
- hermeneuticsStudy of interpretation methods
Confirming accuracy of claims
- debunkingProving claims false
- verificationProving something accurate
- prebunkingRefuting falsehoods in advance
- evidence-basedSupported by verified data
disinformation
Intentional deceptive falsehoods
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- falsehoodDeliberate untrue statement
- hoaxDeliberate deception for effect
fabrication · deception · distortion · spin · mislead · canard · misrepresent · rumor · falsification · deepfake
truthiness
Emotional sense of validity
populism
Politics favoring ordinary citizens
- tribalismIn-group loyalty, out-group hostility
- polarizationSeparation into opposing extremes
- demagogueryManipulative political rhetoric
authoritarianism · Brexit · Trump · strongman · nationalist
clickbait
Sensationalized content for traffic
- sensationalismOverhyped news coverage
- punditryExpert commentary profession
- infotainmentNews-entertainment media blend
hyperpartisan · tabloid · algorithm · viral · bothsidesism · amplification · doomscrolling
relativism
Context-dependent truth doctrine
- subjectivityPersonal viewpoint coloring perception
- constructivismActive knowledge-building theory
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
fact-checking
Confirming accuracy of claims
- debunkingProving claims false
- verificationProving something accurate
- prebunkingRefuting falsehoods in advance
- cultural trendstrends, fads, movements, cultural shifts, social norms
- political buzzwordswoke, wokeness, virtue signaling, virtue signal, dog whistle
- denialismclimate denial, Holocaust denial, vaccine denial, denialism, anti-science
- manipulation tacticsgaslighting, guilt trip, guilt-tripping, guilt tripping, emotional blackmail
- misinformationmisinformation, disinformation, fake news, falsehoods, hoaxes
post-truthevidence-based
Supported by verified data
fact-based · empirical · rational · scientific · objective
post-truthhonest
Free from deception
truthful · sincere · forthright · candid · transparent
truth, truthful, untruth, truthfulness, untruthful, truthfully, untruthfulness, trueness, post-factual