FAKE NEWS AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES: A SIGNAL OF DECAYING DOMINANT NARRATIVES By Kevin Jae
I
N 2016, the Oxford English Dictionary declared post-
of society as being designated as such by the old
truth the word of the year, describing the adjective
establishment—the “old religion”—when confronted by
as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which
new, alternative narratives. These alternative narratives are
objective facts are less influential in shaping public
designated by the established elite class as “superstition,”
opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” The
or in our contemporary equivalents, fake news and
choice of the word reflected the emergence of fake news
conspiracy theories. Nietzsche contributes two things
and conspiracy theories in the public discourse. This essay
to our discussion. Firstly, there is a power dynamic
will attempt to analyze the topic and to examine it with a
at play: the established elite class (whether cultural,
different frame: fake news and conspiracy theories are a
economic, political, or otherwise) can designate some
signal of decaying dominant narratives.
narratives as “true” and designate other narratives as “fake
I propose that we begin by considering this passage by Nietzsche: “The signs of corruption.— Consider the following signs
news” or “conspiracy theories.” Secondly, we can read “superstition,” (or “fake news” and “conspiracy theories”) as the liberation of alternative narratives, perspectives, and
of those states of society which are necessary from time to
ideologies, which the established elite class experiences as
time and which are designated with the word ‘corruption.’
“corruption”—or the decline of their own ideological control
As soon as corruption sets in anywhere superstition
over dominant narratives. This is not to deny that certain
becomes rank, and the previous common faith of a people
narratives or perspectives are factually untrue. However, if we
becomes pale and powerless against it. For superstition is
pause the element of facticity for now, we come up with an
second-order free spirit: those who surrender to it choose
interesting new frame of analysis: fake news and conspiracy
certain forms and formulas that they find congenial and
theories are the signal of a declining dominant narrative. As
permit themselves some freedom of choice… Those who
previously dominant narratives decay, there is space for new
then complain of corruption are the adherents of the old
narratives to appear and fill in the gaps.
religion and religiosity, and they have also determined
Numerous signals point to the deterioration of
linguistic usage hitherto... [emphasis added with bolded
dominant narratives in our contemporary society. I
text]” (p. 96).
demonstrate this with a brief overview of some leading
A brief explanation is in order to translate the passage for our discussion. Nietzsche speaks of the “corruption”
intellectual movements. According to postmodern theorist Jean-Francois Lyotard, the post-modern
HUMAN FUTURES
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