FAQ

How Useful is the Concept of Post-Truth in Analysing Genocide Denial?: Analysis of Online Comments on the Jedwabne Massacre

Publication date: 16.10.2018

Zoon Politikon, 2017, 8/2017, pp. 141-182

https://doi.org/10.4467/2543408XZOP.17.006.9265

Authors

Marius Gudonis
Collegium Civitas
Contact with author
All publications →

Download full text

Titles

How Useful is the Concept of Post-Truth in Analysing Genocide Denial?: Analysis of Online Comments on the Jedwabne Massacre

Abstract

The choice of “post-truth” as the OED’s 2016 word of the year spawned a large number of academic and popular texts. Some authors considered genocide denial to be an example of post-truth rhetoric. This study analysed the emerging literature on the subject and identified the notion of “indifference to truth” as a key defining characteristic that was distinct from neighbouring concepts. User comments to four online Newsweek Polska articles concerning the 1941 Jedwabne massacre of Jews were then scrutinized through the conceptual lens of indifference to truth. As a result, five types of post-truth rhetoric were constructed, identifying, tentatively, new forms of online genocide denial: (i) Explicit Indifference, (ii) Unsubstantiated Fabrication, (iii) Unconcerned Contradiction, (iv) Political Instrumentalization, and (v) Gratuitous Perversion.

References

Download references

Ahmed R. (2017), Brexit: The Mainstreaming of Right-Wing Populist Discourse, In: OSCE Yearbook 2016, (Ed.) Schlichting U., Nomos, Baden-Baden

Baird C., Calvard T.S. (2018), Epistemic Vices in Organizations: Knowledge, Truth, and Unethical Conduct, “Journal of Business Ethics”, doi: 10.1007/s10551-018-3897-z

Ball J. (2017), Post-Truth: How Bullshit Conquered the World, Biteback Publishing, London, e-book

Bender S. (2013), Not Only in Jedwabne: Accounts of the Annihilation of the Jewish Shtetlach in North-eastern Poland in the Summer of 1941, “Holocaust Studies” 19 (1), doi: 10.1080/17504902.2013.11087369

Bendyk E. (2017), Jak żyć w epoce post-prawdy, „Polityka” April 5

Broncano F. (2018), Posverdad: epistemología política de la indiferencia a la verdad, PúblicoGT, http://publicogt.com/2018/02/22/posverdad-epistemologia-politica-de-la-indiferencia-a-la-verdad/ 

Butler-Adam J. (2017), What could scientists do about 'post-truth'?, “South African Journal of Science” 113 (1/2), doi: 10.17159/sajs.2017/a0195

Cassam Q. (2018), Epistemic Insouciance, “Journal of Philosophical Research”, doi:10.5840/jpr2018828131

Chaffee S.H. (1991), Explication, Sage Publications, London–New Delhi

Charny I.W. (2000), Innocent Denials of Known Genocides: A Further Contribution to a Psychology of Denial of Genocide, “Hu-man Rights Review” 1 (3)

Clem S. (2017), Post-Truth and Vices Opposed to Truth, “Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics” 37 (2)

Cohen S. (2001), States of Denial: Knowing about Atrocities and Suffering, Polity Press, Cambridge–Malden

Czapliński P. (2017), Niecała prawda o post-prawdzie, „Polityka” April 5

d’Ancona M. (2017a), Post Truth: The New War on Truth and How to Fight Back, Ebury Press, London, e-book 

d’Ancona M. (2017b), Ten Alternative Facts for the Post Truth World, “The Guardian” May 12, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/may/12/post-truth-worst-of-best-donald-trump-sean-spicer-kellyanne-conway 

de Saint-Laurent C., Brescó de Luna I., Awad S.H., & Wagoner B. (2017), Collective memory and social sciences in the post-truth era, “Culture & Psychology” 23 (2), doi: 10.1177/1354067X17695769

Devine N. (2018), Beyond Truth and Non-Truth, In: Post-Truth, Fake News: Viral Modernity & Higher Education, (Eds.) Peters M.A., Rider S., Hyvönen M., Besley T., Springer, Singapore

Dmitrów E. (2002), Oddziały operacyjne niemieckiej Policji Bezpieczeństwa i Służby Bezpieczeństwa a początek zagłady Żydów w Łomżyńskiem i na Białostocczyźnie latem 1941 roku, In: Wokół Jedwabnego: Studia (Vol. 1), (Eds.) Machcewicz P., Persak K., Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, Warszawa

Enfield N.J. (2017), Whose truth is it anyway?, “New Internationalist” No. 501

Ettema J.S. (1987), Journalism in the “post‐factual age”, “Critical Studies in Mass Communication” 4(1), doi: 10.1080/15295038709360117

Forecki P. (2008), Spór o Jedwabne: Analiza debaty publicznej, Wydawnictwo Naukowe INPiD UAM, Poznań

Fox F. (2001), A skeleton in Poland’s closet: The jedwabne massacre, “East European Jewish Affairs” 31 (1), doi: 10.1080/13501670108577938

Freedland J. (2017), Post-Truth, Lies and Fake News [Video file], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-uFBSNBvHk 

Gilbert C.J. (2016), #NotIntendedToBeAFactualStatement: On Truth and Lies in an AffectiveSense, In: Truth in the Public Sphere, (Ed.) Hannan L., Lexington Book, London

Gross J.T. (2016), Sąsiedzi. Historia zagłady żydowskiego miasteczka, http://www.polin.pl/en/news/2016/07/09/sasiedzi-historia-zaglady-zydowskiego-miasteczka-jan-tomasz 

Gross J.T., MM (2016), Gross o Jedwabnem i pisaniu przez PiS historii od nowa, http://www.newsweek.pl/wiedza/historia/jan-tomasz-gross-o-jedwabnem-i-pis-piszacym-historie,galeria,388842,1.html 

Gutsche R.E., Jr. (2018), News Boundaries of “Fakiness” and the Challenged Authority of the Press, In: The Trump Presidency, Journalism, and Democracy, (Ed.) Gutsche R.E., Jr, Routledge, New York–Abingdon–Oxon

Higdon N., Baham N.L. III (2017), The New American Authoritarianism: How the Corporate Media Normalized Racism in 2016, In: Censored 2018: Press Freedoms in a “Post-Truth” World. The Top Censored Stories and Media Analysis of 2016–17, (Eds.) Roth A.L., Huff M., Seven Stories Press, New York, e-book

Hopkin J., Rosamond B. (2017), Post-truth Politics, Bullshit and Bad Ideas: ‘Deficit Fetishism’ in the UK, “New Political Economy”, doi: 10.1080/13563467.2017.1373757

Joel P. (2014), Motivations for participating in ‘viral politics’: A qualitative case study of Twitter users and the 2012 US presidential election, “Convergence” 22(1), doi: 10.1177/1354856514532074

Jones B.T. (2016), In a Post-Truth World, Opinion is as Good as Fact, “Thematic Musings: Thoughts of an Australian academic on Politics, History and Philosophy” December 13, http://benjaminthomasjones.com/?p=884 

Karpiński M.M. (2006), Thou Shalt Not Kill: The Impact of the Jedwabne Affair on Polish Perceptions of History and Concepts of Responsibility and Redemption (Master's thesis), Carleton University, Ottawa, https://curve.carleton.ca/d002d84d-dfa2-49c5-ab1d-0e5a6e845227 

Keyes R. (2004), The Post-Truth Era: Dishonesty and Deception in Contemporary Life, St. Martin’s Press, New York, e-book

Khomami N. (2016), Daily Mail Publishes Correction to Story about 'Migrants from Europe', “The Guardian”, https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jun/17/daily-mail-publishes-correction-story-migrants-from-europe 

Kinna R. (2017), Post-Truth Politics and the Defence of the Status Quo, “Stimulus: Respond” 4-6, http://www.stimulusrespond.com/ 

Kumór W. (2017), Powstanie film, który zakłamuje prawdę o Jedwabnem? „To nie Polacy zabijali”, “Newsweek Polska” http://www.newsweek.pl/opinie/antypoklosie-film-o-zbrodni-w-jedwabnem-bez-udzialu-polakow,artykuly,414103,1.html 

Lambert C.A., Strauss J. Tindall N.T.J. (2016), Public Relations Representations in Popular Culture, In: Communication Perspectives on Popular Culture, (Eds.) Herrmann A.F., Herbig A., Lexington Books, London

Leith S. (2017), Nothing like the Truth, “The Times Literary Supplement” August 16, https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/post-truth-sam-leith/ 

Machcewicz P. (2002), Wokół Jedwabnego, In: Wokół Jedwabnego: Studia (Vol. 1), (Eds.) Machcewicz P., Persak K., Instytut Pamie̢ci Narodowej, Warszawa

Malpas J. (1992), RETRIEVING TRUTH: Modernism, Post-modernism and The Problem of Truth, “Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal” 75 (2/3)

McComiskey B. (2017), Post-Truth Rhetoric and Composition, University Press of Colorado, Colorado

McIntyre L. (2018), Post-Truth, MIT Press, Cambridge

Medad Y. (2009), Correcting A Misquotation Reputedly By Menachem Begin, http://begincenterdiary.blogspot.com/2009/05/correcting-misquotation-reputedly-by.html 

Midgley N. (2016), Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year: Post-Truth, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/word-of-the-year/word-of-the-year-2016 

MM (2018), Czy po to była ustawa o IPN? Poseł PiS już ma nową teorię o zbrodni w Jedwabnem, „Newsweek Polska”, http://www.newsweek.pl/polska/polityka/jacek-zalek-zydow-w-jedwabnem-zamordowali-niemcy,artykuly,422964,1.html 

Muñoz Sanhueza P. (2017), Medios de comunicación y posverdad: Análisis de las noticias falsas en elecciones presidenciales de EE (Master’s thesis), Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, https://ddd.uab.cat/pub/trerecpro/2017/hdl_2072_293813/TFM_Priscila_Munoz.pdf 

Pawełczyk P., Jakubowski J. (2017), Postprawda i nowe media. Czy potrzebujemy postprawdy?, „Środkowoeuropejskie Studia Polityczne” nr 1, doi: 10.14746/ssp.2017.1.11

Pierlott M.F. (2009), Truth, Truthiness, and Bullshit for the American Voter, In: Stephen Colbert and Philosophy: I am Philosophy (And So Can You!), (Ed.) Schiller A.A., Open Court, Chicago–La Salle

Pingeot M. (2017), Pour mieux saisir la post-vérité, relire Hannah Arendt, “The Conversation” January 20, https://theconversation.com/pour-mieux-saisir-la-post-verite-relire-hannah-arendt-71518 

Rabin-Havt A. (2016), Lies, Incorporated: The World of Post-Truth Politics, Anchor Books, New York, e-book

Rubio D. (2017), La política de la posverdad, “Política Exterior” No. 176

Sismondo S. (2017), Post-truth?, “Social Studies of Science” 47 (1), doi: 10.1177/0306312717692076

Smith J.E.H. (2016), Truth After Trump: Lies, Memes, and the Alt-Right. The Chronicle of Higher Education, https://www.chronicle.com/article/Truth-After-Trump/238174 

Snyder T. (2010), Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin, Basic Books, New York:.

Snyder T. (2015), Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning, Tim Duggan Books, New York, e-book.

Speed E., Mannion R. (2017), The Rise of Post-truth Populism in Pluralist Liberal Democracies: Challenges for Health Policy, “International Journal of Health Policy and Management” 6 (5), doi: 10.15171/ijhpm.2017.19

Szaniawski P. (2016), Kto zdaniem Polaków zamordował Żydów w Jedwabnem? [SONDAŻ NEWSWEEKA], “Newsweek Polska”, http://www.newsweek.pl/polska/pogrom-w-jedwabnem-anna-zalewska-ludobojstwo-w-jedwabnem-,artykuly,394292,1.html 

Tallis B. (2016), Editorial: Living in Post-truth: Power/ Knowledge/ Responsibility, “New Perspectives: Interdisciplinary Journal of Central & East European Politics & International Relations” 24 (1)

Tesich S. (1992), A Government of Lies, “The Nation” January 6, https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-11665982.html 

Tornoe R. (2017), Get Ready for the 'Post-Truth' Era, “Editor & Publisher” 150 (2)

Urynowicz M. (2002), Ludność żydowska w Jedwabnem. Zmiany demograficzne od końca XIX wieku do 1941 roku na tle regionu łomżyńskiego, In: Wokół Jedwabnego: Studia (Vol. 1), (Eds.) Machcewicz P., Persak K., Instytut Pamie̢ci Narodowej, Warszawa

Vaccaro S. (2018), Post-verità. Sinistrainrete: Archivio di documenti e articoli per la discussione politica nella sinistra, https://www.sinistrainrete.info/filosofia/12040-salvo-vaccaro-post-verita.html 

Viner K. (2016), How Technology Disrupted the Truth, “The Guardian” July 12, https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/12/how-technology-disrupted-the-truth 

Warzyński S. (2017), O współczesnych problemach z prawdą. Refleksje w świetle eseju Harry’ego G. Frankfurta „O wciskaniu kitu” (On Bullshit), “Collectanea Theologica” No. 87 (3)

Weinbaum L. (2002), Penitence and Prejudice: The Roman Catholic Church and Jedwabne, “Jewish Political Studies Review” 14 (3/4)

Wieviorka M. (2017), Face à la «postvérité» et au «complotisme», “Socio: La nouvelle revue des sciences sociales” 8 (Special issue: Zygmunt Bauman, critique de la modernité), http://journals.openedition.org/socio/2728 

Wolentarska‐Ochman E. (2003), Jedwabne and the power struggle in Poland (remembering the Polish‐Jewish past a decade after the collapse of communism), “Perspectives on European Politics and Society” 4(2), doi: 10.1080/15705850308438859 

Information

Information: Zoon Politikon, 2017, 8/2017, pp. 141-182

Article type: Original article

Authors

Collegium Civitas

Published at: 16.10.2018

Article status: Open

Licence: CC BY-SA  licence icon

Copyrights:

This Article is made in Open Access, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode.pl 

Percentage share of authors:

Marius Gudonis (Author) - 100%

Article corrections:

-

Publication languages:

English

How Useful is the Concept of Post-Truth in Analysing Genocide Denial?: Analysis of Online Comments on the Jedwabne Massacre

cytuj

pobierz pliki

RIS BIB ENDNOTE