Foucault’s Theory of Power describes a conceptualisation of power in which actors neither hold power, nor take it. Instead, it exists within everyday interactions and is embedded in daily life through the creation and dissemination of knowledge.
According to his theory, certain actors have the authority to determine what is considered true, facilitating a common understanding that benefits either themselves or the group they represent. In his view, power is inherently linked with truth, and he suggests that power influences what is accepted as truth as part of the way it “produces reality.”
But what happens when our collective understanding of the truth wavers? What are the consequences – during a General Election and beyond – when those who wield power present a version of the world fundamentally removed from what it is?
The seeds have been sown for this reality by a political landscape characterised in part by misrepresentation of policies from competitors and perpetuation of conspiracy theories. As an American-London transplant, it hits a bit too close to home – and I can’t help but think the UK might be on track to match the US’s descent into political detachment from truth.
A key step towards this reality is the breakdown of the communication norms that society has collectively agreed upon – a development exemplified by the endorsement of ‘alternative facts,’ as former Trump Counsellor, Kellyanne Conway would have characterised them, by senior political leaders.
Members of the Government last year announced an extraordinary lineup of policies: they pledged to stop a tax on meat, a compulsory car-sharing policy, a plan for the UK to take 100k asylum seekers, and to deliver new tram routes in Manchester and Nottingham. Unfortunately, the first three policy proposals don’t really exist, and the tram routes already do.
Already this year, research has found widespread misinformation spread by political parties on social media, on topics ranging from the performance of the economy, to Keir Starmer’s stance on abolishing the monarchy.
The US is, of course, no stranger to misinformation. There are too many examples of alternative fact promotion to choose from during the Trump administration, from lying about the size of his inauguration crowd, to claiming Russia had not interfered with the 2016 Election, to suggesting COVID-19 could be cured with bleach injections. Conspiracy theories about voter fraud implying Trump won the 2020 Election – that it was ‘stolen’ from him – continue to be embraced by millions of Americans.