Truth Crisis: Navigating the Precipice of Meaning in Modern Society

A Sandzile Mabuza Opinion 

In 2016 the word post-truth was chosen as the word of the year due to the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom and the very divisive United States of America presidential election, this was due to its excessive use in debates, research and discussions, according to Oxford and The Washington Post, it appears we are living in an era where truth lies in the eyes of the beholder and a society that has lost the true desire to search for truth due to its distrust of  media sources.

In the same year of 2016 Time magazine on its cover raised a question, Is truth dead? Perhaps the authors were rudimentary posing this question for the future as we see the word where truth faces scrutiny by many especially in media. We define the word Post truth as a situation in which individuals are likely to accept truth based on their emotions. We can then define truth as accurate, complete and unbiased information that has been gathered and verified conscientiously. The journalist’s primary mandate is the disseminating of information and truth, the journalist is frequently put in a tough position to do so as it finds itself having to oblige by many factors such as the editorial policy of a newspaper, the political landscape of the location and by the profession’s habits and routines.

Misinformation, fake news and media opacity

Fake news is now a common phrase but still poses a very serious threat to many societies including trust and major news organizations because it travels seven times faster than the actual news. It appears this will continue to happen even in the future as social media becomes more dynamic and advanced, as it has proven to become society’s preferred choice source of news. However, this provides an even more significant threat since we are moving into a society that is less informed and has less understanding on where to find out truth.

Our newspapers have plainly struggled to give an unbiased truth to the greatest extent possible due to their editorial policies and the nature of their sponsors. Our society's political systems have directly influenced several news firms, one of which is the United States. Former President Donald Trump vs CNN is an example of media opacity, which is characterized by a deliberate lack of transparency and has posed a challenge to truth for decades.

It appears promising and concerning that as we move towards the fifth media estate, where bloggers and social posts enter the scene of information sharing, this will bring us uncaptured and unbiased truth and news, but the question of quality and fake news must not be completely dismissed, as social media has demonstrated over the years.

Trump vs Biden a battle in the American Political scene

It seems truth has been losing value since 2016, especially in the American political scene, it seems very evident that former President Donald Trump believes that he won the 2020 presidential election claiming that the votes were rigged while Biden and his supporters dispute that rhetoric, another example is that of President Joe Biden who is the oldest president in Americas history at 81 years and  Donald Trump at 77 years, this shows that there is a four year gap between the two possible 2024 presidential candidates, Donald trump has publicly called out President Biden for being too old to be  in office, which means if Donald trump wins the 2024 elections will be the same age as Biden in his last year of his term in 2028. While the question whether former President Donald Trump will cope in office during his term is yet to be experienced, the premise is that they can be both classified as being too old and their abilities to be run should be discussed independently with the same scrutiny. The final line should be that the two presidents recognize the facts independently and with equal examination. This demonstrates that American society is divided in its perception of the truth, and that the problem of post-truth among their supporters is increasing at an unprecedented scale.

Former President Jecob Zuma vs President Ramaphosa terms of presidency

It appears beyond reasonable doubts that both presidents have been dismal in their terms of presidency. Jacob Zuma has a well-documented of a state capture legacy involving the Gupta brothers with shocking revelations on the state capture inquiry by former ministers and CEOs. It is also highlighted by the Nkandla case, where in 2014 then public protecter Thuli Madonsela released a report that found Zuma's Nkandla resident upgrades to be unlawful, and finally in 2021 where his arrest sparked a looting crisis as a form of protest to the decision of his arrest.

Today, former President Jacob Zuma's Pro supporters have joined the MK party because they believe that he is perhaps a great crime-free leader that the current president has a wide agenda on, but that can be left to political commentators to Analyse. On the other side, there is the current President Ramaphosa, who has a well-documented legacy of the worst economy since the dawn of democracy, with the country experiencing a rate of 32.1% unemployment in the fourth quarter according to STATSA. The country has seen a collapse in a number of state enterprises, an obvious example being ESKOM, which has completely deteriorated under his leadership, but a number of notable comrades such as Fikile Mbalula say he has been a very great leader, even after the leaking of the Arthur Fraser affidavit to the police, where robbers targeted his farm in Limpopo and found $ 4 million in his furniture, it is clear that some say he has decisively dealt with corruption after the state capture.

It is clear that the former President Zuma camp believes he has been a great leader and all the cases around him are completely false and there is a wide agenda around him from his political opponents, while President Ramaphosa’s current ANC faction will go out to defend him at all costs with the view that he is a great leader who has served that country very well, highlighting the basic problem of Post Truth.

How can we fix this problem?

In an era where information is in the palm of our hands, citizens of the world must still embrace having to take the initiative to search for the truth in mainstream media as it provides a full outline of how major events unfold or unfolded in society, as some media houses have editorial policies in place to ensure quality rather than platforms’ like Facebook where anyone can post anything. We must also develop an attitude that ensures that we open ourselves to accepting truth separately from emotions as it delays progress and transition in mainstream politics; senior citizens must accept change as it often delays accepting truth in a world where dynamics change; and the Gen Z must step their foot down in an era where truth is said to be dying and seek to understand why fake news travels seven times faster than actual news and embrace understanding.