TRUTH? WHAT TRUTH? TRUTH AND FAKE THROUGH A CULTURAL LENS

Abstract

Faking is a hot item in nowadays newspapers. Especially in the context of modern media and the problem of what is called fake news.
It is clear that political opponents fight each other by claiming that articles published in papers are made up, are fake. The truth, they claim is only found in publications from their side.
In some quality newspapers they do fact checking to see if certain statements are “true”. There is evidence that this factchecking is however not really changing the beliefs of people reading these checks.
The societal key problem is, that the belief in institutions that were trusted in the past as sources of truth are under attack.
Many of the discussions on fake news are taking place in American news media. One can wonder if this struggle for finding truth is special for the American culture. And in how far truth is a cultural “construct”. This article will explore the way truth is defined in different cultural settings.
It will also explore the treat for democracy if institutions that are supposed to be arbiters in heated ideological arguments are made suspicious.