ISMAIL LAGARDIEN: Social media encourages mutual deception among politicians and their followers
The politics of our age is adding to the layers of mendacity that was first identified during the interwar period
A combination of images and texts on social media platforms, enhanced by AI applications, “filters” and overlays, have made it almost impossible to work a way through the layers of mendacity that mark our age. It has reached a stage where you cannot tell the difference between truth and lies, or between what is fake and what is real.
Walter Benjamin, to whom is credited the idea of “layers of mendacity”, may have said that social media has made it possible for lies to become pervasive and unquestioned. Under such conditions lies or untruths are spread mutually. There are literally many millions of people willing to believe, and who have chosen to hold on to, every word spoken by the avatars of their belief systems, and thereby provide tacit approval of untruths. ..
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