bullshit

Bullshit is persuasive speech or writing made without any concern for the truth, according to Harry Frankfurt’s famous 2005 work, On Bullshit. Frankfurt argues that bullshit is more insidious than lying, as the liar still values the idea of truth: they must themselves believe the truth matters enough to hide it, and in lying to you they are still acknowledging that seeking the truth is a good thing, they are just misdirecting you at to what the truth is. The bullshitter, on the other hand, undermines the very concept of truth.

The rise of bullshit in (especially American) politics in the past decade has been called a “post-truth” era. Stephen Colbert coined the term “truthiness” to describe a kind of bullshit intended to feel true, regardless of any concordance with reality. Bullshit is an effective propaganda tool because propaganda’s purpose is not to convince people of falsehoods but rather to undermine the idea of truth.