The effects of post-truth politics on democracy

Abstract

Abstract:
Politics and truth do not always go hand in hand. Traditionally, the diversity of political actors, access to information and the role of the media have achieved an essential balance for the development of democracy. Technology has transformed communication in a revolutionary way, influencing the ways of producing, transmitting, distributing and perceiving information, converted into essential raw material for economic, industrial and social relations. This transformation affects politics in a special way, with the appearance of a new type of information disruptions which affect not only the distribution capacity, but also the timing of it, the sentimentalization of political decisions, the fragmentation of the public opinion, the creation of polarized parallel public spheres and the creation of a climate of general suspicion that questions the role of truth and endangers democracy, beyond the electoral periods.