Fake news and post-truth: information and narrative disorders between Gutenberg and Google

Abstract

Fake news and conspiracy theories can be considered as information disorders and therefore as related to the relationship that each person has with information. Although the spread of computer networks and social media has made these disorders much more evident than in the past, they do not depend exclusively on the digital dimension of this relationship. This article examines the nature of information disorders and their different types in relation to information literacy on the one hand, and to storytelling on the other. The most frequently proposed solutions to information disorders, such as debunking or fact-checking, are based on assumptions that should not be taken for granted; for example the sharing of a common rational basis, which has been strongly called into question by the meaning of the term post-truth. For this reason, it is necessary to take into consideration storytelling and narrative modalities since their mechanisms are at the basis of the effectiveness and global spreading of fake news.