Public opinion buildup in post-truth era – A case study

First Name
Ștefan
Last Name
Cazan
Institution/University
Școala Națională de Studii Politice și Administrative
Paper/Abstract submission

In this paper I will explore the issue of knowledge buildup during periods of crisis, emphasizing on the transition from the traditional media to biased/partisan media. Building on the assumption that people’s beliefs and values are predictors for their behavior, I will further argue on the relevance of the way people gain knowledge, and how this process’ outcomes influences the buildup of public opinion, as public opinion is usually regarded as the most important guideline for public policies in a working democracy.       

For the most part, I would like to discuss about the ramifications of mistreating the informational dimension of crises by allowing alternative narratives, conspiracy theories, propaganda, fake news etc. to play a bigger role than they should in public discourse. The argument here is that the public deliberation process tends to fail when there are many unreasonable parties that intend to guide public policy-making towards an outcome with counterfactual inputs.  

As a case study, I will present how the Romanian society reacted to some crisis-like situations, taking into account how both mainstream and lesser media covered certain events. It is essential to understand the link between disinformation and people’s propensity to surround themselves with information that validates their belief systems – especially when the information is counterfactual.