It’s the most wonderful time of the year for logophiles! The world’s dictionaries are looking back over 2016 and choosing the word that best defines these 636 (leap year) days. Up first, the Oxford English Dictionary. Drumroll please…
post-truth (adj): Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.
So, to put that in a sentence: Panic! We are living in post-truth times.
See, based on the rules of post-truth. It doesn’t matter if that’s true. It only matters if it makes you panic. Are you panicking?
We should have seen this coming word people. Literally, literally no longer means literally, and I’m pretty sure that was the first sign of the fact apocalypse (fact-pocalypse? Next year, Oxford). Stephen Colbert called it years ago.
If veracity no longer matters in shaping public opinion why stop there? I mean technically post-truth is an adjective, but who’s to say I can’t use it as a noun. As post-truth teaches us, the grammatical structure of this sentence is relative.
Also, the new national animal will be Bambi. All hail, Bambi!
Is it true? Of course not, but I wanted to leave you with a warm and fuzzy post-truth thought. You’re welcome.
NY Mag: An Extremely Helpful List of Fake and Misleading News Sites to Watch Out For
…bi-daily smile…
