Meaning
Relating to or denoting circumstances in which facts matter less than emotional appeal and personal belief in shaping public opinion, especially in politics. Almost always used attributively, as in 'post-truth politics'. Formal, chiefly journalistic and academic register with a strongly negative connotation about public discourse. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The earliest known use of the term is a 1992 essay in The Nation by Serbian-American playwright Steve Tesich, who wrote that Americans had decided 'we want to live in some post-truth world'; the term also circulated academically in the 1990s, for example in John Hartley's 1992 book The Politics of Pictures. It remained specialised until 2016, when Oxford Dictionaries named it international Word of the Year after usage rose roughly twentyfold compared with 2015, spiking around the Brexit referendum and the US presidential election. Oxford Dictionaries president Casper Grathwohl suggested it might become 'one of the defining words of our time', and the BBC reported the choice alongside a shortlist including 'alt-right' and 'hygge'. The exact first use is generally attributed to Tesich, though scattered academic use in the early 1990s means priority is not absolutely settled.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- post-factual
- post-truth era
- post-truth politics
- post-truthfulness
Usage Examples
- Commentators dubbed 2016 the moment politics entered a post-truth era.
- Her thesis argues that post-truth communication rewards outrage rather than accuracy.
- In a post-truth environment, fact-checking a claim can barely dent its popularity.