The concept of “post-truth”, which is used in the meanings such as trivializing reality, adopting arguments based on feelings and beliefs rather than facts, and which is considered to have emerged depending on the epistemology of digital media technologies and social networks has widespread in the political arena after the American Presidential Elections and Brexit debates in 2016. Today, with the rapid spread of social networks, the boundaries between lies and truth have disappeared, fake news and exaggerated discourses that distort the facts have become frequently used not only by anonymous people on social media, but also by political figures themselves. While researches show that fake news spread more quickly and exaggerated content is more accepted, post-truth discourse has become a new reality in social networks. The aim of this study, which deals with the concept of post-truth in the context of social media content and is a systematic compilation is to examine how the concept is evaluated by different researchers and to discuss how does it find a place in social media. It is obvious that social media tools create a wide ground for the spread of post-truth discourse. The most effective way to combat false, fake and exaggerated news and discourse is to increase digital literacy and make the social media platforms act more ethically and consciously in this regard.
Keywords: post-truth discourse, social media, fake news