“Media that care more about spectacle than clarity only encourage the culture of bullshit.”

I have mentioned this before, but it’s a point worth repeating every now and again[Any particular reason this time? – Ed]  Oh, one or two…  From Kenan Malik in the Guardian

Media that care more about spectacle than clarity only encourage the culture of bullshit.

We live in an age obsessed by fake news and politicians’ lies. These are issues important to tackle. We should not ignore, however, the more insidious culture of bullshit.

A liar, observed Frankfurt, knows what the truth is and wants to conceal it. To that extent, he is “respectful of it”. A bullshitter, on the other hand, does not care what is true or false. That’s why, Frankfurt suggested, bullshitting, even more than lying, is what is truly corrosive of politics, of society and of truth.

[Media includes blogs, right? – Ed]  Indeed.


Discover more from Slugger O'Toole

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

We are reader supported. Donate to keep Slugger lit!

For over 20 years, Slugger has been an independent place for debate and new ideas. We have published over 40,000 posts and over one and a half million comments on the site. Each month we have over 70,000 readers. All this we have accomplished with only volunteers we have never had any paid staff.

Slugger does not receive any funding, and we respect our readers, so we will never run intrusive ads or sponsored posts. Instead, we are reader-supported. Help us keep Slugger independent by becoming a friend of Slugger. While we run a tight ship and no one gets paid to write, we need money to help us cover our costs.

If you like what we do, we are asking you to consider giving a monthly donation of any amount, or you can give a one-off donation. Any amount is appreciated.