Life in the post-truth era
The mainstream media can't hold back a tsunami of misinformation

If Donald Trump wins on Nov. 5, it will be partly because the traditional press failed to present the former president as he truly is. That's the argument put forward by many media critics, who accuse The New York Times, CNN, The Washington Post, and other legacy outlets of "sanewashing" Trump: selectively quoting or editing his rambling, threat-filled, and profanity-laced rally speeches. This habit stems from mainstream news outlets wanting to appear "objective," the argument goes. If they did accurately cover Trump's extremism and bizarre behavior, it would look like they were in the tank for Democrats.
As a result, Trump's repeated pledge to round up and deport millions of undocumented immigrants, whom he has called "animals" and "not human," gets labeled by the Times as "hyperbolic rhetoric" rather than 100-proof authoritarianism. And his weird disquisitions — about whether it's better to be eaten by a shark or to die from electrocution, for example — go unmentioned in many reports on campaign events, which instead focus on sane-sounding policy announcements, such as eliminating taxes on tips.
These are valid criticisms, but they vastly overplay the ability of mainstream media to shape the national conversation. Newspapers and network news have shrinking audiences, while social media is grabbing ever more eyeballs. About 50 percent of Americans now go to platforms like TikTok, X, and Instagram to get their news — where they also get a flood of disinformation served up by influencers, hucksters, and propagandists. A Russian-created fake video smearing Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz with abuse allegations has been viewed some 5 million times on X. Millions more have seen bogus AI-generated images of Trump wading through the floodwaters in the wake of Hurricane Helene, feeding a Trump-backed narrative that only he — and not the Biden administration — cares about the storm's victims. Clearly, we have a reality problem, but it's one that traditional media is largely powerless to fix.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This is the editor's letter in the current issue of The Week magazine.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Theunis Bates is a senior editor at The Week's print edition. He has previously worked for Time, Fast Company, AOL News and Playboy.
-
How military service works for K-pop idols
Under The Radar All seven members of K-pop sensation BTS have now completed mandatory national service
-
The Week contest: Flight fraud
Puzzles and Quizzes
-
Is Trump sidelining Congress' war powers?
Today's Big Question The Iran attack renews a long-running debate
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
The ambiguous legal state of ectopic pregnancy care
The Explainer Rep. Kat Cammack's accusations of 'fearmongering' are the latest example of how mixed messages are complicating the debate around abortion
-
RFK Jr.: How to destroy vaccination
Feature Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaces all 17 members of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice
-
ICE: Targeting essential workers
Feature After a brief pause, the Trump administration resumes its mass deportation plan
-
'No Kings': A turning point for the resistance?
Feature Millions of Americans nationwide took to the streets to protest against the Trump administration
-
Trump: Making the military into a 'partisan militia'?
Feature Donald Trump held a military parade just days after sending troops to stop protests in Los Angeles
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Is the US sliding into autocracy?
Talking Point Donald Trump's use of federal troops on home ground, dismissal of dissent and 'braggadocious' military posturing are all symptoms of a shifting political culture