Post-truth and democracy

This study examines the phenomenon of post-truth, which plays a decisive role in contemporary politics, within the context of its impact on the functioning of democracy. Post-truth represents a political communication environment in which individual opinions, emotions, and group affiliations outweigh objective reality. At this point, structural issues such as socioeconomic insecurity caused by neoliberal policies, migration, and identity crises increase the tendency toward post-truth content and weaken democratic institutions. The study employs literature review and conceptual analysis methods to explore the epistemological and political dimensions of post-truth, aiming to identify its detrimental effects on democratic values, institutions, and processes. In particular, the creation of filter bubbles by algorithms in digital media traps individuals in alternative realities, undermining democratic debate and pluralism. The dissertation demonstrates how populist discourses feed on this artificial reality and transform liberal democracies into illiberal forms of governance.