The American philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt’s 2005 book, On Bullshit (originally an article from 1986), offers a theory of bullshit that defines the term and examines its uses in communication. Bullshit, according to Frankfurt, is discourse used to persuade without considering the facts. The liar believes in the truth and works to hide it, while the bullshitter doesn’t care whether what they say is true or not. Bullshit thrives in a vague realm where its primary goal is reaction and attention, in contrast to plain lies, which purposefully distort facts. This paradigm fosters a culture of deception and manipulation when it infiltrates journalism, a profession that is historically grounded in the truth. The media environment in Pakistan is the one place where this is most noticeable.
In the modern world, the game of “clickbait” and misinformation is getting stronger. The alarming situation is that this has spread all over the globe and is not only restricted to a single nation. The proliferation of digital platforms and the race to be the winner among competitors has cost us a lot. There is continuous chaos all around. Traditional journalism has almost ended and contemporary journalism is going nowhere except being a part of the bullshit culture to gain a unique identity. According to a Pew Research study, 64% of Americans believe that fake news has confused the public during particular campaigns. Fake stories with real news engagements over social media platforms, including Facebook and X are responsible for this confusion.
South Asia, home to one of the largest and most diverse media ecosystems is also not immune to coping with the bullshit culture. For instance, in 2018, a false rumor about kids’ kidnappings spread via WhatsApp, and despite of warning and fact-checking campaigns, the damage was irreversible. Beside this, Indian news channels frequently blur the lines between reporting and propaganda often aligning with the political agendas. The 2020 Dehli riots saw biased coverage all over the media framing the violence as a result of anti-government protests. Pakistan has also faced so much political instability and chaos among public due to this rising bullshit culture. The Pakistani nation has been polarized. Media is working hard to target the state and its sovereignty using this bullshit culture. Regardless of the news’s authenticity, one news goes viral, and without any confirmation, people start trusting the fake news and sharing it with the people around them. Pakistan as a state is paying for this bullshit culture.
Although, Europe has taken significant steps to deal with misinformation, yet this bullshit culture continues to spread its curses into different landscapes. The United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum in 2016 was manipulated by false claims such as £350 million figure on campaign buses. This later aided in swaying public opinion. Across Europe, far-right parties have effectively weaponized bullshit to spread xenophobia and the list doesn’t stop here.
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The race to be the best has reshaped the journalistic priorities. Regardless of the truthfulness or falsehood of the news, if the news is creating a public interest, this new journalistic approach makes it a priority. A study by Outbrain found that headlines containing hyperbolic words like “shocking” or “amazing” increase the click rates up to 59%. However, the news never talks about anything “shocking” or “amazing”. Besides that, social media algorithms give priority to the content that often drives engagement promoting the misinformation to spread more speedily. Facebook’s internal research which was leaked in 2021 revealed that the algorithms used by Facebook amplify the misinformation and divisive content because such content can keep the users longer stay on these platforms. A study by MIT found that false news spread six times faster on X as compared to true stories, increasing polarization.
Bullshit culture has greatly impacted the trust nations used to have in their institutions, including media, government, and academia. Edelman’s 2023 Trust Barometer has revealed that only 46% of people trust media globally while mentioning misinformation as a key concern Bullshit culture distorts democratic processes by influencing the election campaigns or any democratic debate.
Misinformation regarding the pandemic handling including the misconceptions regarding vaccines has made the governments difficult to keep their people safe. A study in Nature Human Behavior found that false information about the virus led to hesitation related to vaccines and increased mortality rates.
Media literacy, regulations and accountability, and public awareness should be the focus for the governments and authorities to get rid of this bullshit culture. It is just not a challenge for the journalists but it is a social crisis for implicating democracy and social cohesion. By understanding its impact and mechanism we need to make our globe immune to this culture. The stakes are high hence the efforts should be higher.