THE LINK BETWEEN POST-TRUTH, POPULISM AND NEW MEDIA

Abstract

The concept of post-truth is associated with populism and new media, which is the most actual issue nowadays.

The media experts and other community experts often argue that Western democracy has entered an era of post-truth politics, where objective facts are losing their weight and public opinion is shaped by appeals of emotions. Brexit and the election campaign of Donald Trump were demonstrated of this policy. These cases the UK leaving EU and the US presidential election in 2016 were observed by many experts and journalists and they came with idea that citizens tend to make their choices based on emotions, not facts or scientific data.

The development of populism is considered one of the main factors in the emergence of post-truth politics. Indeed, support for populist movements has increased dramatically in recent years. Notably, the Five Star Movement (Movimento 5 Stelle) and the Northern League (Lega Nord) led the government in Italy, Marine Le Pen came in second in the French presidential election in 2017, and the Alternative for Germany (AfD)) received record number of votes in the last elections to the Bundestag.