Not just a 2018 phenomena: The ‘war on truth’ continues

Abstract

Time Magazine has named its 2018 person of the year as the ‘guardians of truth', namely four journalists who were slain or detained for their efforts in getting to ‘the truth’ of the story (Vick, 2018). Although much of the media focus and discussions on the ‘war on truth’ are attributed to President Trump’s penchant for deriding journalists and their journalism as ‘fake news’, the ‘war on truth’ is not a unique or recent phenomenon, but rather, one that has raged throughout time in particular for less powerful groups. However, the overt nature of recent attacks on the media and a constant stream of alternative facts have made the ‘war on truth’ more visible, and the global community more conscious of these issues. Concordantly, it is not only minorities whose experiences have taught them to question whose truth is being privileged and why, but a broader phenomenon with more and more people now questioning what is the truth, or whose truth is being pushed and for what purpose?