Abstract

Public debates are becoming increasingly aggressive, lies are spreading more easily than ever. Bernhard Pörksen describes the big business with disinformation. Terror warnings, rumors, the fake news panic, scandals and spectacles in real time - the networked world has long existed in a mood of nervousness and irritability. Bernhard Pörksen analyzes the arousal patterns of the digital age and describes the big business of disinformation. He demonstrates how our idea of truth, the dynamics of revelations and the character of debates are changing. Today, everyone has become a broadcaster, and the influence of established media is waning. In this situation, the wise use of information is part of general education and should be taught in school. Media literacy has become an existential question for democracy.