A Flower Traveled in My Blood

The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies published a book by Muhammad Bahdoud entitled: [Post-truth](https://www.dohainstitute.org/ar/BooksAndJournals/Pages/post-truth-reason-confronting-ignorance-triviality-and-misinformation.aspx): Reason in the Confrontation of Ignorance, Triviality, and Misinformation. It is 439 pages long, including an executive summary, an introduction, fifteen chapters divided into five sections, and a conclusion. This book seeks to approach the phenomenon of “post-truth” as a significant shift in the structure of contemporary media discourse, as the scene has become mired in fake news and conspiracy theories, especially with the increasing role of social media. Some thinkers have even seen this change as a manifestation of a new cognitive pattern that has been translated with the term “post-truth era.” It is an era in which truth gave way in favor of deception, and in which the voice of deception became louder than reason. ## Knowledge transformations in the era of “post-truth.” According to this book, the phenomenon of misleading practices is not a result of the moment, but the technological boom and the unprecedented spread of digital media, in fragile social environments and crisis political contexts, have contributed to the exacerbation of this phenomenon, and it has become a contemporary dilemma that is difficult to contain. Since 2016, with the rise of populist waves that coincided with the American and British elections, increasing academic interest has emerged in this problem, as it is the result of profound cultural, technological, and political transformations that herald a change in the face of the world. The book starts from a striking paradox that says the following: The more communication tools and information openness increase, the fewer opportunities for understanding, and the deeper the gap between knowledge and awareness. Hence, the compass is absent in the deluge of fabricated facts. Instead of fulfilling the technological promise of harmony and rapprochement, emotions and beliefs seemed to have extended their dominance over the mind, especially with the growth of philosophical currents that destabilized the reference concepts of truth, most notably the post-modernism trend that legitimized absolute relativity and made room for subjective interpretations that questioned every standard. ## The roots of the phenomenon and its structural dimension The core hypothesis of the book After the Truth is that misleading news is not a new occurrence, but rather its roots go back to ancient conflicts between philosophers and sophists, between reason and quackery, between the Enlightenment and the Church. What has changed today is the structural nature of this deception, under a liberal capitalist system that glorifies populist forces and promotes illusion as reality. In this context, the modern state is unable to produce a comprehensive system of truth or protect its citizens from misinformation, while the media itself is turning into a central tool for spreading falsehood, and this is what was clearly evident in the media coverage of the emerging coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19). In addition to the fragility of institutions, the public's tendency to believe lies when they come from legal figures or large media outlets is evident. What perpetuates the logic of propaganda and camouflage instead of free debate. Despite the responsibility of philosophical trends for questioning the concept of truth, philosophy itself, as an authentic critical practice, remains capable of questioning itself and regaining its role in restoring concepts and undermining illusion.