Media, Technology and Education in a Post-Truth Society: From Fake News, Datafication and Mass Surveillance to the Death of Trust

The book explores the impact of media, emerging technologies, and education on the resilience of the post-truth society. It suggests that a return to civic participation, enhanced critical media literacy, journalism for the public good, techno-interventions, and lifelong learning systems can foster a more engaged global citizenry. The contributions from scholars, technologists, policy-makers, and activists raise critical questions about the nature and power of knowledge in the 21st century.

Format: Hardback
Length: 312 pages
Publication date: 08 July 2021
Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited

This comprehensive collection of essays delves into the profound impact of media, emerging technologies, and education on the resilience of the so-called post-truth society. The book examines whether a revival of civic participation, improved critical media literacy, journalism for the public good, techno-interventions, and lifelong learning systems can collectively cultivate a more engaged and empowered global citizenry. The post-truth society is characterized by a multitude of terms that challenge the very foundations of democratic and inclusive societies: the decline and fall of reason, the disruption of the public sphere, the proliferation of misleading information, fake news, culture wars, the rise of subjectivity, the co-opting of language, the emergence of filters, silos, and tribes, attention deficits, the prevalence of trolls, polarization, and hyper-partisanship, the conversion of popularity into legitimacy, manipulation by populist leaders, governments, and fringe actors, algorithmic control, targeted messaging, and native advertising, surveillance, and platform capitalism.

The contributions from scholars, technologists, policymakers, and activists raise crucial questions about the nature and power of knowledge in the 21st century. Readers are encouraged to reflect on their own role in perpetuating certain narratives and to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of individuals on all sides of a given debate. The diverse perspectives, spanning geography, sectors, gender, and world-views, will broaden the appeal of this work to an international audience seeking to comprehend the resilience of the post-truth society.

Weight: 580g
Dimension: 160 x 237 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781800439078