The various dimension of disinformation: an introduction

The term “fake news” is both a famous and controversial term in the public sphere of many countries. It became a defining feature for political and media discourse in the second half of the 2010s, and its eff ects are bound to be felt for a long time. Since then, “fake news” has become emblematic of a sense of crisis in contemporary political and social life. Along with related concepts such as “post-truth” and the “conspiracy theory”, it speaks to a widespread worry about the fragile nature of truth in public discourse and how a culture of dishonesty appears to be undermining the social relations which provide the stability for a well-functioning democracy. The complexities arising from the popularity of the term and its positioning as an emblem of contemporary political distress, along with the wide range of social domains in which its effects can be felt, means that it is studied across many different disciplines which focus on various different themes and use a variety of methodologies. An essential element in all instances of disinformation, however, is communication of information, and thus the creation, dissemination, and contestation of discourse. And it is this point which acts as the inception point for this Handbook, highlighting and examining the ways in which analysis of the discursive nature of disinformation is essential to our understanding of and ability to address the issues produced by the phenomenon.