The Death of Truth - Book Summary

Embark on an insightful journey: observe today's world through the eyes of literature.

Do you often perceive the global scenario as overwhelmingly chaotic and exceptionally surreal? Rest assured, you aren't alone. More so, this isn't the first time society has been stirred by such a sense of unrest. Over half a century ago, acclaimed writer Philip Roth succinctly captured the tumultuous spirit of his times, noting that the truth was turning stranger than fiction. Fast forward to today, and his sentiments resonate stronger than ever.

Well-versed in the world of literature, New York Times' revered book critic, Michiko Kakutani, guides us through her unique perspective into the current "post-truth era" and the ever-present haze of "fake news". Referencing the prophetic works of literary stalwarts such as Roth, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Victor Klemperer, Robert Heinlein, and Neil Postman, Kakutani unveils how our reality mirrors their warnings about a world where facts and truths are manipulated by those wielding power.

Stay tuned and uncover the hidden layers of our society. Explore the clandestine operations within Russia's Internet Research Agency. Find out which Twitter remark President Trump regarded as a flattering accolade. Unearth the roots of our present conundrum within the foundations of the Know Nothing Party. An intriguing discourse awaits you — one that reveals how the echoes of the past reverberate through the paradoxes of the present.

A historical resistance to reason and progress surfaced into the mainstream in 2017.

When the United States of America was birthed, its founding principles were heavily influenced by the Enlightenment period of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe. Central to this era was a dedication to reason, liberty, progress, and religious tolerance. However, America's history has been consistently marred by factions opposing these ideals.

In his Lyceum Address of 1839, Abraham Lincoln underscored the significance of reason as a safeguard against tyranny and as a preserver of the rule of law. Nevertheless, a counter-narrative opposing reason and progress was alive and thriving. Perhaps, this backlash was most prominently represented in the political sphere by the Know Nothing Party in 1855 — a staunchly anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic right-wing entity with 43 members in Congress.

The supporters of the Know Nothing Party bear a striking resemblance to those pushing back against progress today. Much like their historical counterparts, modern dissenters form part of a working class that feels marginalized and stripped of agency. They often scapegoat the advancements made through globalization and technology as the root of their problems.

Literary figures over the years have labeled this opposing wave in different ways. While Philip Roth christened it "the indigenous American berserk," Richard Hofstadter deemed it "the paranoid style." Much like a dormant virus lurking beneath the surface, this counter-narrative has persisted through time, finally breaking into the mainstream in 2017.

Conspiracy theories and extreme perspectives on religious and racial intolerance, which were primarily on the fringes, gained traction when they were amplified by Breitbart bloggers and retweeted by President Trump. An assault on reason and progress is further evident in Trump's choice of leaders for key institutions. Rick Perry, who once advocated for the abolition of the Department of Energy, is paradoxically running it now. Similarly, Scott Pruitt, infamous for multiple lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency, now heads it. As a result, these critical agencies have retreated on their initiatives related to renewable energy and environmental conservation.

The ever-changing information landscape: a dangerous breeding ground for filters, silos, and tribalism.

Over the past few decades, we've witnessed a significant transformation in the way we access information. What author David Foster Wallace colorfully described as a "kaleidoscope of information options" has now given birth to media outlets like Fox News, championing a specific ideology rather than maintaining impartiality. Consequently, the concept of truth has morphed into something subjective, driven by perspective and agenda.

This commentary from Wallace dates back to 2005 — a time when social media wasn't as dominant as it is today. The emergence of this digital behemoth has compounded the issue, making it more likely for information to be filtered and distorted before reaching the end consumer. Since 2005, right-wing news media has expanded beyond the realm of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, stretching into platforms like Breitbart and the Sinclair Broadcast Group, which influences local news consumption across nearly 38 percent of the United States.

These media platforms have developed a reactionary approach to news, frequently sidelining facts, data, and evidence — particularly on critical issues like gun violence, climate change, and healthcare. Their audience mirrors this dismissive outlook, often choosing to overlook concrete evidence or attributing it to a nebulous "establishment" or "deep state".

This leads us to a psychological phenomenon known as confirmation bias, where individuals favor information that reinforces their pre-existing beliefs. The author refers to this as the creation of partisan silos or content silos — constructs formed to isolate oneself within a carefully curated realm of preferred narratives.

Compounding this issue is an increasingly tribal society, where people cluster with those who share their views, amplifying confirmation bias. The dynamics of these ideological tribes can eerily resemble those of terrorist networks, severing recruits from external influences to cultivate polarized worldviews.

The magnitude of this division in the media landscape is evident from a 2016 Pew survey. Findings showed that 45 percent of Republicans deemed Democratic policies as a threat to the nation's wellbeing, with a comparable 41 percent of Democrats feeling similarly about Republicans. Moreover, 70 percent of Democrats categorized Republicans as "close-minded", while 47 percent of Republicans branded Democrats as "immoral". This polarization hardly sets the stage for open, reasonable conversations.

The dangerous liaisons of postmodern theory, subjectivism, and divisive political agendas.

In the realm of arts and literature, the postmodern movement spearheaded by luminaries like David Foster Wallace, Thomas Pynchon, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, and the Coen Brothers has left an indelible mark. However, its foray into politics has opened a Pandora's box of less-than-favorable outcomes.

Postmodernism fundamentally posits that one's experience or perception of reality is distinct and can vary based on factors like gender or class. This theory found fertile ground in America following the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal. At a time when the government's narrative seemed increasingly unpalatable, people were open to different perspectives.

In essence, postmodern thought championed the notion that in certain contexts, reality can be subjective. This idea was empowering and illuminating when the government was exposed for its deceptions concerning the war and the Watergate break-in. However, when taken to extremes, it leads to a dangerous territory where everything is perceived as subjective, and even fundamental truths, facts, and reality become matters of debate.

This distortion was evident when the Trump administration attempted to subjectivize the verifiable attendance at the 2016 Presidential inauguration. As Kakutani notes, undermining facts is not only absurd but also detrimental.

This disregard for facts is evident in Trump's dismissive stance on the scientifically-backed evidence for the merits of renewable energy and the perils of climate change. It's a calculated move designed to appeal to his base, further deepening the ideological chasm within the nation, and placating his benefactors in the fossil fuel industry.

More worrisomely, he has exploited fabrications to incite fear and resentment in white working-class voters, conveniently providing scapegoats in the form of immigrants, women, black people, and Muslims. He propagated the false narrative of escalating crime rates despite them being at an all-time low. He painted immigrants as dangerous and economically burdensome, while in reality, they're less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. Plus, 60 percent of the nation's tech companies have been founded by immigrants or their offspring.

These manipulation tactics have eerie similarities to those used in totalitarian regimes. Hannah Arendt, in her 1951 book "The Origins of Totalitarianism", ominously stated that an ideal populace for totalitarian rule comprises individuals incapable of distinguishing fact from fiction. Makes one wonder, can we?

The dark side of the internet: The weaponization of fake news and propaganda.

The armory for political subterfuge is well-stocked, and using subjectivity to sow doubt about indisputable facts is just one of many tools at their disposal. Another more insidious way to sabotage democracy is the propagation of propaganda, often dressed up as "fake news".

Tim Berners-Lee, the visionary who invented the World-Wide-Web in 1989, envisaged a platform that could foster collaboration and serve as a vast repository for digital information. Little did he foresee the sinister side of his creation — the web's uncanny efficiency at disseminating misinformation at blistering speeds.

Even before the contentious 2016 US election, the boundaries between news and entertainment had become blurry. With media outlets relentlessly chasing sensational headlines and viral content, the lines got further blurred. It was clear that viral content had certain characteristics — it evoked emotions of awe, anxiety, or outrage.

By 2016, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter had become primary news sources for many, providing fertile ground for a massive propaganda onslaught, primarily from Russia.

From June 2015 to August 2017, Russian operatives posted approximately 80,000 posts on Facebook alone, reaching a staggering 126 million Americans. Post-December 2015, a significant chunk of these posts originated from the St. Petersburg based Internet Research Agency. On one floor, individuals would craft deceptive blog posts, typically pro-Trump or anti-Clinton. On another floor, people would create fabricated American profiles to comment on and share these posts.

Did they succeed? In the three months leading up to the election, the most popular fake news articles amassed more readers than the leading stories from established media houses like the New York Times, the Washington Post, and NBC News.

Apart from pro-Trump articles, fake online groups were also created to stoke divisions and heighten tensions in the United States. One such group, "South United", flaunted Confederate flags and spurred a new Southern uprising. Another group, "Blacktivist", hailed the Black Panthers.

The use of misinformation as a tool to undermine democracy has a long, global history, particularly in Russia. It's worth noting that these modern-day Russian propagandists haven't confined their activities to the US. They've meddled in at least 19 European elections in recent years, aiming to destabilize both the EU and NATO.

The inherent danger in Trump's nihilistic approach, incessant lies, and linguistic manipulations.

While anonymous Russian internet trolls are a cause for concern, what Kakutani finds even more disturbing is the President's frequent misuse of his Twitter platform to spread lies, belittle others, taunt, and generally indulge in troll-like behavior. Back in 2013, a Twitter user lauded Trump as "the most superior troll" — an assertion he took as "a great compliment!"

Trump's writings reveal his worldview, which bears the hallmarks of a zero-sum game where someone's victory necessitates another's loss. What's more unsettling is the underlying nihilism in his philosophy, a doctrine that denies the existence of objective truth and embraces destructive negativity.

In his book, "Think Big," Trump paints a rather grim picture of the world: "The world is a horrible place. The same burning greed that makes people loot, kill, and steal in emergencies like fires and floods, operates daily in normal everyday people... People will annihilate you just for the fun of it or to show off to their friends."

The undercurrent of negativity is apparent in Trump's policies as well, potentially impacting millions of lives. He has systematically attacked every component of Obama's legacy, spanning healthcare and the environment, seemingly intent on turning the clock back on civil liberties to a pre-1960s era.

The regularity and casualness of Trump's lies and the apparent lack of repercussions for his behavior have had alarming ripple effects. Other US politicians and global leaders seem to be following suit.

When working towards passing the tax bill in late 2017, some Republicans, seemingly emboldened by Trump's blatant lies, claimed the bill would help reduce the budget deficit and benefit the middle class, even though it was clearly designed to offer a tax break to the wealthy.

Some Congress members, oddly transparent about their real intentions behind supporting the bill, appeared to be swayed by Trump's cynicism. Representative Chris Collins admitted that his affluent donors were pushing for the bill's passage, and he was prepared to oblige them.

Internationally, leaders seem to be mimicking Trump's media bashing antics, like his infamous trolling of CNN, which he disparagingly labels as "fake news." He once tweeted an image showing something labeled "CNN" squashed under his shoe. Emulating Trump's tactics, the leaders of Syria and Myanmar dismissed accusations of mass murder and human rights abuses as "fake news."

The worrying emergence of a unique brand of nihilism across America.

In the wake of Donald Trump's election, two books experienced a sudden surge in sales: George Orwell’s "1984" and Hannah Arendt’s "The Origins of Totalitarianism". However, Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" holds equal relevance, imagining a populace so engrossed in trivial pursuits and heavily tranquilized by drugs, they cease being accountable citizens.

As early as 1985, Neil Postman, author of "Amusing Ourselves to Death," saw Huxley’s dystopia mirrored in an America narcotized by mindless entertainment and embittered by politics, leading to the citizenry's political disengagement. Now, thirty years on, could our current era of perpetual distractions and general disillusionment be allowing the President to flout the Constitution?

A particular cause for concern is the visible rise of a peculiar kind of nihilism spreading across the United States.

This nihilism is evident in the continued online harassment of surviving victims from the Sandy Hook and Parkland shootings. It is on display in businesses like California-based Disinfomedia, operators of several fake news sites. One such site posted a fabricated story titled "FBI Agent Suspected in Hillary Email Links Found Dead in Apparent Murder Suicide." Founder Jestin Coler admits that their attempts to trick liberals into circulating fake news haven't been as successful as those aimed at Trump supporters.

The emerging brand of nihilism is also embodied in the likes of Richard Spencer, a white supremacist who has led alt-right groups in chants of "Hail Trump! Hail our people!" Brushing aside criticism for evoking Nazi salutes, Spencer argues he was obviously being ironic.

Regardless, even if we accept that Spencer and frequent users of forums like Reddit or 4chan are ironically indulging in racist or fascist rhetoric, the potential for such conduct to fuel genuine hatred is real. Researchers Alice Marwick and Rebecca Lewis conducted a study on online media manipulation and found that an internet troll who ironically uses racial slurs for a few months "may be more receptive to serious white supremacist claims."

Even Trump’s aides have suggested that not everything the President says should be taken seriously.

The state of affairs raises significant questions. The founding fathers of the United States, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, stressed the importance of upholding the principles of truth, liberty, and reason, cautioning that failing to do so endangers democracy. It's high time we heeded these warnings.

Summing it up

Fundamentally, it might feel like we've been thrust into a new era filled with political upheaval and extreme societal discord. But history serves as a mirror, reflecting that our current turmoil is merely the outcome of past occurrences. As Kakutani articulates, the after-effects of the 2016 US elections aren't as shocking when you consider the numerous warnings from writers about the potential consequences when leaders persistently deceive, manipulate language for self-gain, and skew facts and undeniable truths. Scholars and historians over the years have highlighted that actions like those of Donald Trump strike at the very heart of democratic principles.