Williamsburg Regional Library

The death of truth, notes on falsehood in the age of Trump, Michiko Kakutani

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 175-208)

no index present

non fiction

The death of truth

bibliography

1038021672

Michiko Kakutani

notes on falsehood in the age of Trump

We live in a time when the very idea of objective truth is mocked and discounted by the occupants of the White House. Discredited conspiracy theories and ideologies have resurfaced, proven science is once more up for debate, and Russian propaganda floods our screens. The wisdom of the crowd has usurped research and expertise, and we are each left clinging to the beliefs that best confirm our biases. How did truth become an endangered species in contemporary America? Former New York Times critic Michiko Kakutani takes a penetrating look at the cultural forces that contributed to this gathering storm. In social media and literature, television, academia, and politics, Kakutani identifies the trends--originating on both the right and the left--that have combined to elevate subjectivity over factuality, science, and common values. And she returns us to the words of the great critics of authoritarianism, writers like George Orwell and Hannah Arendt, whose work is newly and eerily relevant

Introduction -- The decline and fall of reason -- The new culture wars -- "Moi" and the rise of subjectivity -- The vanishing of reality -- The co-opting of language -- Filters, silos, and tribes -- Attention deficit -- "The firehose of falsehood" : propaganda and fake news -- The Schadenfreude of the trolls -- Epilogue

adult