2018/02/01 by Pierre Berthon, Pierre R. Berthon, Leyland F. Pitt +1 · 128 citations
Computer Science · Neuroscience · Social Sciences · #Advertising #Aesthetics #Business #Computer science #Digital Media and Philosophy #Epistemology #Fake news #Law #Media studies #Misinformation and Its Impacts #Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical Innovations #Philosophy #Political science #Politics #Position (finance) #Post truth #Postmodernism #Social media #Sociology #The Internet
paper · doi:10.1177/0276146718755869
published in Journal of Macromarketing 38(2), 218-227 (SAGE Publishing)
crossref issued 2018/02/01 · crossref published 2018/02/01 · crossref published-online 2018/02/01 · openalex publication_date 2018/02/01 · crossref created 2018/02/01 · crossref published-print 2018/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/04/29 · crossref indexed 2026/08/05 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
In the past US election cycle, and mirrored by similar events in Europe, two trends have come to dominate social discourse: truthiness (the validity of something based on how it feels) and post-fact (taking a position that ignores facts). Human discourse has always contained elements of these, but the nature of the Internet and social media has pushed truthiness and post-facts to new levels. The purpose of this paper is to explore the complicated relationship brands have with fake news and discuss the implications for brand management of a post-truth world. We explore the complicated relationship brands have with fake news: Brands both fuel fake news and are burned by it. Next, we turn to the intellectual and instrumental roots of the post-truth world: postmodernism and its technological enablers, show how marketing became a purveyor of the postmodern worldview, and how brands have increasingly adopted truthiness and post-fact positions. We offer managers a way out of the postmodern cul-de-sac, discussing ways brands can be rethought and managed in a post-rational world.