Facts, truth, and post-truth : access to cognitively and socially just information

Abstract

This article addresses facts, truth, post-truth, and the impact on access to cognitively and socially just information. It is predominantly situated within the post-truth context where information is manipulated to such an extent that it becomes disinformation, disguised as truth. The article consists of four main sections: the first section will provide an introduction and overview of key concepts intrinsic to understanding the concerns at hand. The next section is a case study of the role the PR firm, Bell Pottinger, played in South Africa and Iraq and the cognitive and social injustices visible in the corresponding events. The selection of these countries provides an opportunity to demonstrate the effect of post-truth and whistleblowing in relation to the challenges experienced in the Global South. The third section, on Cambridge Analytica and Digitality, is a discussion of the infamous Cambridge Analytica and its interferences in political campaigns in Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S. These discussions lead to the final section as an antidote to post-truth influences, which reflects on the way forward. This section makes recommendations for South African and international initiatives based on UNESCO’s intergovernmental programme known as the Information for All Programme (IFAP).