The narrative as a weapon: the conceptual challenges of post-truth in the 21st century

Authors

Keywords:

Political communication, Disinformation / Misinformation, Enemy-making, post-truth, Techno-communicational devices

Abstract

This article explores the phenomenon of disinformation, emphasizing the 2016 Colombian case (Peace Plebiscite) and the Chilean case of 2022 (Constitutional Convention). The premise is that these articulations were deployed for specific political purposes, within a context of heightened narratives and positions framed by a post-truth regime, understood as an intensification of emotionally charged argumentation. Furthermore, the infodemics of 2016 in Colombia and 2022 in Chile arose under specific enabling conditions, ranging from enemy-making strategies and current modes of production to techno-scientific advances and new understandings and practices of warfare. It is argued that only an interdisciplinary strategy can understand and stabilize such phenomena conceptually and categorically.

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Author Biographies

  • Alejandro Lagos, University of La Frontera

    Is a PhD student in Communication (UFRO/UACh ANID National Doctorate Scholarship 2024-21241972) and Master in Political Communication from the University of Chile. Currently, he is a member of the Freedom of Expression and Citizenship Program of the Research Department of the Faculty of Communication and Image of the University of Chile. He has been a research assistant in FONDECYT projects and has participated in the Observatory of the Rise of the Extreme Right in Chile (OAEC). His areas of research include political communication, disinformation and the right to freedom of expression. He has published articles in magazines such as Rosa, F@ro and Representaciones, and is co-author of the book Rabia. Fears, abuses and disorders in the Chilean oasis (2019). In addition, he has presented papers in national and international congresses (INCOM and FELAFACS)

  • Christian Berrios, University of Chile

    Sociologist and Master in Political Communication from the University of Chile, with a Higher Diploma in Political Economy from CLACSO. His research focuses on democracy, populisms, ultra-right and political communication. He has worked as a research assistant in projects such as Fondecyt Regular 1231032 "Cut and Paste Sources in Written Journalism in Chile" and "Tiranomanía: continuities and changes in the memorialization of Pinochet in Chilean democracy (1990-2023)".
    He has published articles on democratic crisis, mediatization of politics and media discourse analysis, highlighting "Crítica a la mediatización de la crisis venezolana de 2019" (2024) and "Democracia, crisis y violencia: fisuras para la democratización del Chile post-2019" (2023). He has also presented his work at conferences such as the IX INCOM Congress and the XIV Chilean Congress of Political Science.

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Published

2025-05-28

Issue

No. 21 (2025): Correspondences & analysis N°21 2025 (january - june)

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Copyright (c) 2025 Alejandro Lagos, Christian Berrios

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How to Cite

Lagos, A. G. ., & Berrios Marambio, C. (2025). The narrative as a weapon: the conceptual challenges of post-truth in the 21st century. Correspondences & Analysis, 21, 137-167. http://ojs.correspondenciasyanalisis.com/index.php/Journalcya/article/view/522

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