ABSTRACT
This chapter kicks off the empirical analysis of contemporary post-truth worlds. It investigates the new democratic discourses that have come to dominate public spheres across the globe. The chapter starts examining these discourses by focusing on how they have constructed a democratic crisis. First, the chapter traces the modern history of concepts like “fake news” and “post-truth,” zooming in on the specific ideas about democracy that have underpinned these. It showcases how a deeply depoliticized vocabulary has been at the core of current discourses: ideas from the world of medicine (linking post-truth to viral infections, diseases, and sickness of the democratic body) have served as a foundation for this. Second, the chapter traces the different (supposed) causes behind the post-truth crisis, including the role occupied by social media, journalists, and the democratic masses. It highlights how each of these actors have, in various ways, been blamed for the current democratic predicament. Taken together, the chapter provides a first step in laying bare the discursive constitution of contemporary post-truth worlds.
