James Ball > Quotes

“Trump has called the media ‘enemies of the people’.59 This is central to Trump’s approach to politics: whether a deliberate strategy or the result of lifelong habit, Trump has no respect for the idea of the fourth estate, a media holding power to account. Everything must be a row, not a debate – the media aren’t checking his claims, or his details; they’re standing against him and his supporters. Trump’s style of politics needs an enemy, and with Clinton dispatched in the presidential election, the media are the perfect choice for the role.”
― James Ball, Post-Truth: How Bullshit Conquered the World

“The price that’s paid is the audience’s trust: if newspapers don’t differentiate the stories that they’ve put time and reporting resources into from those they run based on a single tweet, why should readers give any more credence to one than another? Even when looking at the quick turnaround ones, if sites change headlines – or entirely reverse a story – without anything flagging that they’ve done so, how are readers expected to know where they are in the process? By running nonsense alongside decent reporting, making no difference between the two, and almost never acknowledging when they’ve screwed up, outlets propagate the culture of bullshit – what’s true barely matters, if it’s entertaining.”
― James Ball, Post-Truth: How Bullshit Conquered the World

“given their bone-deep habit of trying to give a hearing to both sides of a political argument. When it comes to dealing with bullshitters, the mainstream media may be bringing a knife to a gun fight.”
― James Ball, Post-Truth: How Bullshit Conquered the World

“Needless to say, this is a problem the US has had plenty of time to grow familiar with: Donald Trump can generate more political nonsense in an hour than most of his rivals can produce in a year. Trump’s versatility in generating half-truth, untruth and outright spectacular mendacity borders on genius.”
― James Ball, Post-Truth: How Bullshit Conquered the World