Lies, Damn Lies, Alternative Facts, Fake News, Propaganda, Pinocchios, Pants on Fire, Disinformation, Misinformation, Post-Truth, Data, and Statistics

Abstract

The first chapter of this book sets the stage for the legal analysis that makes up the bulk of the project. It will pay special attention to the political discourse about dishonesty surrounding the 2016 presidential campaign. The chapter will begin with a discussion of the way discourses about political deception and dishonesty permeated the 2016 campaign and the early stages of the Trump presidency. This will be a brief discussion looking at a few categories of discursive objects that were the highest-profile parts of the election. It will look at the concept of “fake news” and how that term evolved in its use through Trump, his opponents, and his surrogates. This will lead into a discussion about the debate within the news media about how to handle (i.e. describe) false statements President Trump made during the campaign, through the transition, and into the beginning of his presidency. The chapter concludes with an explanation of the notion of “post-truth” politics as it was defined through the lens of the Trump era.

I wouldn’t believe Donald Trump if his tongue were notarized. Alair Townsend, Former New York City Deputy Mayor

Singer (2016, p. 89)