{"id":79,"date":"2016-11-18T00:22:02","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T00:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.electionanalysis2016.us\/?page_id=79"},"modified":"2016-11-18T14:48:43","modified_gmt":"2016-11-18T14:48:43","slug":"the-2016-election-and-the-success-of-fact-free-politics","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/us-election-analysis-2016\/section-1-media\/the-2016-election-and-the-success-of-fact-free-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2016 election and the success of fact free politics"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"row \"><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"col-lg-3 col-md-3 col-xs-12 col-sm-3\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-301\" src=\"http:\/\/www.electionanalysis2016.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Peter_Van_Aelst-bw-300x300.png\" alt=\"peter_van_aelst-bw\" width=\"227\" height=\"227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Peter_Van_Aelst-bw-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Peter_Van_Aelst-bw-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Peter_Van_Aelst-bw-60x60.png 60w, https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Peter_Van_Aelst-bw.png 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 227px) 100vw, 227px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"ProfileText1\">\n<p class=\"BIO\"><strong><span class=\"CharOverride-35\">Dr Peter Van Aelst<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"BIO\"><em>Associate Professor of political science at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). He also has a research position as senior lecturer at the Institute of Political Science, Leiden University, funded by the Dutch research council NOW<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"BIO\"><span class=\"EMAIL\">Email: peter.vanaelst@uantwerpen.be<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-261 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/www.electionanalysis2016.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/US2016-Section-1-300x283.png\" alt=\"US2016 - Section 1\" width=\"300\" height=\"283\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/US2016-Section-1-300x283.png 300w, https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/US2016-Section-1-768x725.png 768w, https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/US2016-Section-1-1024x966.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/US2016-Section-1.png 1098w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<h5 class=\"CampaignQuote1\">Section 1: Media<\/h5>\n<div class=\"page-list\"><ul class=\"list-group-item\"><li class=\"page_item page-item-69\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/us-election-analysis-2016\/section-1-media\/the-question-of-objectivity-in-the-2016-presidential-election\/\">The question of objectivity in the 2016 Presidential Election<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-71\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/us-election-analysis-2016\/section-1-media\/after-objectivity\/\">After Objectivity?<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-73\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/us-election-analysis-2016\/section-1-media\/journalism-and-the-illusion-of-innocence\/\">Journalism and the illusion of innocence<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-75\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/us-election-analysis-2016\/section-1-media\/did-election-results-trump-frames-of-newspaper-endorsements\/\">Did election results trump frames of newspaper endorsements?<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-77\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/us-election-analysis-2016\/section-1-media\/trump-and-mediatization\/\">Trump and mediatization<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-81\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/us-election-analysis-2016\/section-1-media\/trump-truth-and-the-media\/\">Trump, truth and the media<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-83\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/us-election-analysis-2016\/section-1-media\/rise-of-donald-trump-media-as-a-voter-decision-accelerator\/\">Rise of Donald Trump: media as a voter-decision accelerator<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-85\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/us-election-analysis-2016\/section-1-media\/the-new-normal-campaigns-elections-in-the-contemporary-media-environment\/\">The new normal? Campaigns and elections in the contemporary media environment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-87\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/us-election-analysis-2016\/section-1-media\/did-the-media-create-trump\/\">Did the media create Trump?<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page_item page-item-89\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/us-election-analysis-2016\/section-1-media\/trump-media-and-the-oxygen-of-publicity\/\">Trump, Media, and the \u2018oxygen of publicity\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><\/div><\/p>\n<p><div class=\"col-lg-9 col-md-9 col-xs-12 col-sm-9\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"FIRST-PARA\"><span class=\"REGULAR\">The US 2016 elections campaign will be remembered for many reasons, not the least for its surprising outcome. One of the most striking features of this campaign is the large amount of factually incorrect statements of President-elect Donald Trump. According to fact checkers about 7 out of 10 statements turned out to be (partly) false. Trump made false statements about his own past, things he said before, but also about major trends in society. Journalists have pointed this out numerous times, and after every debate the large number of incorrect statements highlighted by fact-checkers. How come this coverage had no effect on his electoral popularity? I see at least three reasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"FIRST-PARA\"><strong><span class=\"BOLD\">Emo trumps ratio<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"FIRST-PARA\"><span class=\"REGULAR\">The growing relativity of opinions and emotions at the expense of facts and knowledge is hardly new. For over a decade the origins and consequences of \u2018fact free politics\u2019 are studied. It was comedian Stephen Colbert who introduced the term \u2018truthiness\u2019 to refer to things that are true according one\u2019s own conviction or view, but that are not necessarily supported by factual proof. The term became quite popular in the US as it nicely reflected the anti-intellectual climate that was on the rise. Policy makers and journalists that rely too much on figures and knowledge are getting out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Basic-Paragraph-US\"><span class=\"REGULAR\">It is no surprise that in this climate there is ample room for false rumors and conspiracy theories rooted in strong political and religious views. Two of the most famous ones are related to Barack Obama\u2019s election in 2008. The wrong conviction that Obama is a Muslim is particularly strong among traditional Christians, while the myth that Obama is not born in the US seems mainly popular among outspoken conservative voters. Both fake stories are related to the fact that Obama is seen as different. The idea that a black man is running their country is for many hard to accept. They have a nostalgia for a familiar white, Christian country. That feeling is so strong that they are willing to believe a man that promises \u2018to bring back their country\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"FIRST-PARA\"><strong><span class=\"BOLD\">The press is lying<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"FIRST-PARA\"><span class=\"REGULAR\">During the primaries the US press had no idea how to deal with the phenomena of Trump and were fascinated by this unconventional, entertaining figure. Gradually, journalists started to reveal the factual mistakes and blunt lies of Trump. However, this coverage had probably little-to-no effect since the trust of US citizens in traditional media is extremely low. For instance, research shows that many attempts of journalists to debunk the myths about Obama had no effect and potentially even backfired. Where there\u2019s smoke there\u2019s fire. During this campaign the distrust in the media even turned into hatred. When Trump talked at his rallies about journalists as \u201cthe most dishonest people I know\u201d, his supporters booed fiercely and turned their anger to the cameras. Meanwhile more and more people rely on an information diet of conservative talk show radio, and internet stories that provide \u2018the real truth\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"FIRST-PARA\"><strong><span class=\"BOLD\">Trump 4 truth\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"FIRST-PARA\"><span class=\"REGULAR\">The book \u2018Trump revealed\u2019, written by two\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"ITALIC\">Washington Post\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"REGULAR\">journalists, describes well how for Donald Trump the truth has always been subservient to his goals and ambitions. Trump believes what he says is true, or almost true, or ought to be true. According to Trump the people want someone who sees it big, and who plays to their wildest dreams and expectations. They know that he exaggerates, but believe, or want to believe, that he is right. Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter of Trumps\u2019 book\u00a0<\/span>The Art of the Deal<span class=\"REGULAR\">\u00a0came up with the term \u2018truthful hyperbole\u2019. It is a contradiction, but Trump loved it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Basic-Paragraph-US\"><span class=\"REGULAR\">Trump used several truthful hyperboles to promote his core messages, and even adjusted the facts to fit his story. For instance, he claimed unemployment is eight times higher than official figures indicate, and the number of Syrian refugees that Obama plans to permit into the US is multiplied by 25. It makes his claim stronger, and the attention he gets larger.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Basic-Paragraph-US\"><span class=\"REGULAR\"><a id=\"_idTextAnchor005\"><\/a>While these exaggerations and deliberate factual mistakes lead to consternation among his opponents, his followers don\u2019t mind. On the contrary, they see in Trump someone that finally tells the truth. Trump tells it like it is and calls problems by their name. He is not afraid to tell the public that the US has become a loser and their President is the founder of ISIS. According to his own words, he has to, because he is a \u2018truth teller\u2019. Telling the truth is stronger than himself. His spontaneous outbursts and insults seem to strengthen that reputation. And in case there is any doubt, Trump uses the phrase \u2018believe me\u2019, to stress that he knows well what he is talking about.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Basic-Paragraph-US\"><span class=\"REGULAR\">You don\u2019t need to believe me, but I doubt the latter is true.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":21,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-79","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The 2016 election and the success of fact free politics - US Election Analysis 2016<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.electionanalysis.ws\/us\/president2016\/us-election-analysis-2016\/section-1-media\/the-2016-election-and-the-success-of-fact-free-politics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The 2016 election and the success of fact free politics - 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