Sixteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

This paper draws on Jean Baudrillard’s theory of simulation in order to better understand the power of falsehood and disinformation in the electronic media today. I argue that Baudrillard’s work on the media (including his theories of simulation, hyperreality and “the online”) provides a powerful means of understanding how the ubiquity of real-time technologies, including the 24-hour news media, has impacted human consciousness, making it increasingly difficult for humans to differentiate truth from lies, facts from fiction, and political rhetoric from reality. Consequences of this eclipse of the real, I argue, include the ascendance of “fake news” and the decline of critical thinking and political judgment, developments that pose a serious danger to democracy.