Introduction

In the introduction, I frame my postmodern approach to exploring the ubiquity of fake news and conspiracy theories in the scientific and political realm. Specifically, I probe the philosophical, social, and ecological repercussions of living in an age of (dis-) information in which a large segment of the population appears to have lost the ability to distinguish between reality and its pervasive misrepresentation on a plethora of screens. Although the parallel universes of simulation in which millions of people spend nearly every waking moment of their existence within echo chambers may bear little to no connection to the real, the real-life consequences of the infodemic cannot be overstated. As evidenced by climate change skepticism-denial and the anti-vaccination movement, the scourge of fake news threatens the health of an imperiled planet in the Anthropocene and the astounding progress of modern science that has eradicated many diseases that used to decimate our ancestors. In the political arena, the simulacral truth claims of postmodern politicians like Trump have begun to destabilize democratic paradigms of governance around the globe. Furthermore, autocratic leaders such as Putin have taken advantage of a steady stream of pro-administration “signs” to suppress dissent and to consolidate even more power.