Deceptive Voices: Truth, Deception and Propaganda and Journalism

• In Event: The Ambivalence of Voice

Abstract

Although questions regarding ‘truth’ in journalism have been complicated by postmodernism, recent debates regarding fake news force re-engagement with issues surrounding truth in journalism. In fact, there is a long history (Plato through Arendt) discussing matters of deception and truth in politics, which can be usefully drawn upon. There is also a substantial literature on propaganda and persuasion shedding light on the ways in which political actors engage in deception. Drawing upon these two literatures enables us to comprehend more precisely the challenges facing contemporary journalism, especially when authoritative voices are being ‘economical with the truth’: Deception strategies involving lying, omission, exaggeration and misdirection, newsroom pressures in journalists, and the re-emergence of Cold War like tensions at the geo-political level are all conjoining to exacerbate manipulation and deception across political discourse. Identifying and analyzing these challenges is a critical first step toward challenging the post-truth political culture.

Author

• Piers Robinson, U of Sheffield