Abstract:
National politics has come to resemble the far side of Alice’s looking glass; contemporary debate has been turned on its head, marked by undertones of epistemological anxiety. From fake news to alternative facts, the very concept of what is “true” has become contentious. Set against this backdrop of dysfunction, this project explores how digital technology is complicating, rather than improving, the quality of democratic debate. The crux of the argument is that social and technological trends interact to form an information environment increasingly conducive to the creation and dissemination of unjustified conviction, half-truths, and outright lies.
