How post-truth politics is wrecking public discourse

Hear from Don Watson, award-winning author and former speechwriter for Paul Keating, as he decodes political language and reveals its influence on democracy and civil debate.

In a time of global climate crisis, political falsehoods and voters’ cynicism, how do we raise the standard of public conversation so that we can adequately address the urgent issues of today?

Post-truth politics is now dominating global media attention and political debates. From the White House to post-Brexit debates and Australian politics, disinformation rules and is often amplified by the echo chambers generated by social media bubbles.

Public discourse is progressively defined by disinformation, evasion, obfuscation or stonewalling. To what extent does this now ubiquitous distortion of public language shape our national destiny? And how do we re-establish public discourse based on facts, evidence and informed debate?

This Sydney Ideas conversation between Don Watson and Benedetta Brevini will consider how post-truth, bullshit and management speak have both taken over and fundamentally undermined the quality of public discourse and policy-making.