'Fake news' sites. Raphael Satter/AP/Press Association Images. All rights reserved.Over the last few months, discussion of ‘post-truth’ has been everywhere. Questions about the status of truth and fact in political debate have acquired a pre-eminence in commentaries on the complex political developments of 2016. These stories vary, but they share an understandable concern with the consequences of a misinformed electorate. Which, of course, are far-reaching.
Within this debate, algorithms have taken on a surprising presence, often as the source of blame for affording the conditions in which lies and manipulated ‘facts’ can thrive. Alongside the emergence of notions of the ‘post-truth’ era, algorithms have increased in public profile and level of notoriety.
As many accounts of the last year have made clear, social media now play a powerful role in shaping the circulation of news and information. The recent reports and wide-ranging reflection concerning the sharing of ‘fake news’ on Facebook are part of broader claims that social media provide the perfect conditions for the propagation and dissemination of misinformation. As we know, it was even suggested that this sharing of ‘fake news’ on social media influenced Donald Trump’s presidential election victory.
