Pseudo-Information, Media, Publics, and the Failing Marketplace of Ideas: Theory

Jeong Nam Kim, Homero Gil de Zúñiga

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

The explosive usage in recent years of the terms “fake news” and “posttruth” reflects worldwide frustration and concern about rampant social problems created by pseudo-information. Our digital networked society and newly emerging media platforms foster public misunderstanding of social affairs, which affects almost all aspects of individual life. The cost of lay citizens’ misunderstandings or crippled lay informatics can be high. Pseudo-information is responsible for deficient social systems and institutional malfunction. We thus ask questions and collect knowledge about the life of pseudo-information and the cognitive and communicative modus operandi of lay publics, as well as how to solve the problem of pseudo-information through understanding the changing media environment in this “truth-be-damned” era of information crisis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)163-179
Number of pages17
JournalAmerican Behavioral Scientist
Volume65
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2021

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Social Psychology
  • Cultural Studies
  • Education
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • General Social Sciences

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