Den moderna politiska lögnen

Abstract

The modern political lie

The political development in recent years has led to a debate in media about political lies, “alternative facts”, “fake news” and contempt for facts in politics. A new, interdisciplinary field of academic research has grown forth, where these issues are addressed within the framework of what is called “post-truth” and “post-truth politics”. However, this discussion risks playing into the hands of the propaganda unless we investigate what kind of lies that are studied and the strategies behind them for creating credibility and legitimacy. The present article develops what Hannah Arendt and Alexandre Koyré identified as an unexpected “invention” in the history of the political lie. It is a key element in the establishment of totalitarian regimes, but it can appear also under non-totalitarian conditions. It is exemplified with Donald Trump’s campaign about the “stolen” election, the Russian “troll factory” Internet Research Agency and “Battlefield” – a group of keyboard warriors associated with the Sweden Democrats.