Public relations, post-truth society and Trump’s alarming political triumph

In November of 2016, the US elected its first post-truth candidate. In the wake of the turbulent election and media cycle, it is crucial to take stock of the political, cultural and technological developments that brought us to this point. I argue that the rise and success of a candidate such as Donald Trump is an inevitable upshot of a PR-steeped media environment. This article examines recent trends in PR and digital media that have contributed towards a post-truth social and political paradigm in the United States. I identify candidate Trump as the quintessential post-truth candidate, highlight the deleterious effects of exposure to PR-speak on the electorate’s media literacy and discuss the various PR tactics that Trump used to exploit the schismatic fertile ground laid by decades of corporate PR strategy. I consider the dangers of a public inexperienced in critical media evaluation and further fragmented by social media bubbles that promote groupthink and make citizens more susceptible to falsehoods. Further, I address Russia’s recent disinformation campaign that worked to help elect Trump and illustrate how PR strategies originating in advertising are being used not only by political candidates but also by foreign powers seeking to influence US elections. All of these developments related to PR and media technology have corroded national political discourse and culminated in an attack on US democracy in the twenty-first century.