It’s 'post-truth' when feeling Trumps fact

It is a phrase rather than a word, but “spasm of history” could be considered a more appropriate epitaph for 2016 than ‘post-truth’ — the ‘Word of the Year’ for 2016 chosen by the Oxford Dictionaries. The choice of the latter, defined as “an adjective relating to circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than emotional appeals” certainly has resonance in these sensitive times. In 2016, the rhetoric around Brexit, the issues swirling around the US presidential campaign, the failed coup in Turkey and even the Tata-Mistry fallout, the OROP protests and the fallout of demonetisation here in India all had elements of ‘post-truth’. Feelings have often trumped facts. Even its older first cousin, ‘truthiness’ — the quality of seeming to be true even if not necessarily so — has traction in the current world scenario.

However, it may be wise to hope that the 2016 events influenced by post-truths will eventually be regarded as mere ‘spasms of history’ – transitory crimps in the vast politicosocio-economic continuum — rather than a template for the future. Maybe then this phrase will be looked at again a few years down the line and considered for some award. That can happen, of course, only if objective facts become more influential in shaping that decision than emotional appeals!