Showing papers in "International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics in 2018"

Post-truth, propaganda and the transformation of the spiral of silence.

Abstract: In 2016, post-truth was named word of the year. Since then a handful of texts have sought to further describe and explore the notion, moving beyond the initial definition given by the Oxford Dictionary. This paper rejects the term ‘post-truth’, in favor of propaganda; since post-truth tends to be utilised as an evaluative term of contemporary political public discourse, as articulated by specific politicians, predominantly through social media. Taking the field of information management as its starting point, our approach underlines the diachronic character of persuasion efforts through information management, understood as propaganda in the public sphere. As a notion, propaganda, in contrast to post-truth, encapsulates both the diachronic character of information management in the public sphere and the ground-breaking transformation of the process of personal opinion expression, initially described by the spiral of silence model, through the emergence of new interactive media.

The crisis of democratic culture

Abstract: Analysis of whether post truth narratives register as a fundamental threat to democratic cultures in anglo-American context.

'Searching for something to believe in': Voter uncertainty in a post-truth environment

Abstract: As other authors in this collection have stated, post-truth came into common parlance as commentators analysed and reflected on election campaigns and their results: the suggestion being that emotions and beliefs had become more powerful than reasoned, fact-based argumentation. Given that most campaigns present their own redacted perspective of reality into an environment containing multiple, contested alternative interpretations, the association between the most contested variant of a campaign, a political contest and post-truth is unsurprising. All campaigns contain elements of post-truth, appeals to emotions that build bridges between that which is sold and the identity of the consumer. Campaigns may encourage people to think but also to feel, and as such campaign strategies chime with understandings of human engagement and the levels of cognitive attention given, with many decisions being gut responses rather than being carefully considered. Our research focuses on two UK contests: the 2016 referendum on membership of the EU and the subsequent 2017 snap general election. Interviews among older voters who voted to leave the EU and younger voters who supported Corbyn-led Labour provide insights into how what might be seen as peripheral aspects influenced voting decisions. The data we suggest highlight challenges for democratic institutions as populist voices present themselves as change agents to win support from voters dissatisfied with consensus politics. Mainstream politicians meanwhile are mistrusted while the arguments of outsiders who appear authentic are given credence. Such observations go to the heart of issues facing democracy and place debates surrounding post-truth as core to those challenges. This article offers insights into how voter choices reveal cognitive processes that explain the link between campaign communication, belief formation and voter choice-making, all of which combine to threaten democracy.

Democracy in a de-civilizing age: The rise of shameless personal truths

Abstract: In this paper, we articulate an argument that suggests we need to look to broad, yet often quite subtle, societal and cultural changes, in order to better understand post-truth politics. We argue that democracy, ontologically premised on the atomized individual as the legitimate social agent, (Hay 2007) is itself being destabilised. This disruption is due in part to a shift in our conception of 'self' that is both corroding the core pillars of our civilising process and altering the nature of our engagement with democratic politics. The historic processes of a civilising culture are outlined in order to argue that the power of our neoliberal consumer culture has generated a ‘decivilising turn’, characterized by the rise of shame thresholds and narcissistic personalities. We then illustrate how these cultural changes produce a climate welcoming of ‘Post-truth’, linking this most specifically to the contemporary political landscape. Civic life resides most acutely in the customs and conventions upheld through the practice of our public dealings with others. The more entrenched, the less easily it can be disrupted by maverick acts and demagogues’ deeds. However, when those in positions of high office show little self-restraint, and sufficient numbers of the populous don't care, the norms democracy depends on are vulnerable to 'charlatan' leaders and populist causes. Here, we offer a picture of democracy in a ‘decivilising’ age where shameless personal truth is privileged. Please note that the start of the introduction contains words that some readers may find offensive.

Eating us out of house and home: The dynamics of commodification and decommodification of reproductive labour in the formation of virtual work

Abstract: This document is the Accepted Manuscript of the following article: Ursula Huws, ‘Eating us out of house and home: The dynamics of commodification and decommodification of reproductive labour in the formation of virtual work’, International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics, Vol. 14 (1): March 2018. Under embargo until 1 March 2019. The final, definitive version is available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1386/macp.14.1.111_7. © 2018 Intellect Content in the UH Research Archive is made available for personal research, educational, and non-commercial purposes only. Unless otherwise stated, all content is protected by copyright, and in the absence of an open license, permissions for further re-use should be sought from the publisher, the author, or other copyright holder.