By Sanjana Singh
What is the greatest threat to truth in this AI-driven world? Is it the fakery that deceives, or the simulacrum that convinces? In this post-truth era—dominated by large language models—artificial intelligence takes the lead in generating news, mimicking human voices, creating realistic videos, and forecasting trends with eerie plausibility. It convinces us with its polished fakery.
Hoax news has now moved beyond yellow journalism and fabricated stories. It is beginning to question our existential reality—even the fate of the planet we all inhabit. The psychological phenomenon known as confirmation bias, where people tend to trust information aligning with their pre-existing beliefs, demonstrates how we are becoming willing “stochastic parrots.” Human intelligence is being sacrificed at the altar of machine learning’s predictive models. Man—once considered by Shakespeare as “noble in reason [and] infinite in faculty”—now treads a path towards intellectual and planetary suicide. This is the banality of hoax culture: ever-growing, increasingly insidious, and disguised in different guises.
Here, the commodification of truth is guided by personalisation: a truth tailored for you, not based on reality but on a hyperreality shaped by your needs and preferences. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram function as pseudo-news channels, showing content that serves individual biases—based on proximity and past behaviour—rather than objective truth, thus trapping us in echo chambers. We have ensnared ourselves—and thereby the future of humanity—within the seductive models of algorithmic logic. Misinformation can masquerade as credible news at any time, especially in our 24/7 news culture and the insatiable machine of hoaxes that constantly massage our egos and divert our attention from real societal, national, and planetary issues. No wonder then that Maxim Gorky once presciently said, “When everything is easy, one quickly gets stupid.”
Are we already doomed? The normalisation and celebration of fakery suggest we might be. Consider the recent case where U.S. President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated video depicting former U.S. President Barack Obama being arrested by the FBI in the Oval Office. This wasn’t just a viral clip—it exemplified how quickly and powerfully false content spreads in our post-truth era, commodified and distributed by the very platforms that claim to be guardians of truth. The issue is this: we are trying to build our future on a foundation of fakeness, and that foundation is bound to crumble.
The swift flow of digital information connects the world—but also fuels the rapid spread of misinformation. By the time something is debunked as a hoax, millions may have already seen and believed it. Another telling example is when Donald Trump called climate change an “expensive hoax and mythical drama.” With one of the most-followed accounts on X (formerly Twitter), his tweets—provocatively framed with hashtags like #ClimateHoax—were rapidly amplified by AI algorithms prioritising engagement. His messaging reached millions inclined to agree, especially when he referred to climate activists as “prophets of doom” and dismissed environmental warnings as “foolish.” This highlights how AI and social media can amplify false narratives globally, placing our collective future at risk.
The crisis of authenticity—where the line between real and AI-generated becomes blurred—has brought us to a philosophical boiling point. We are now forced to question our ethical convictions. For instance, I recently read a headline: “Deepfake deception: Indian woman’s identity stolen for erotic AI content.” In this case, an ex-partner, driven by anger, used deepfake technology to create explicit videos for social media, which were later revealed to be fabricated. This example underscores the ethical collapse of those who exploit technology and social media to manipulate reality, causing profound psychological and emotional trauma to victims.
AI is growing ever more robust—a double-edged sword sharpening its edge with innovation. In this post-truth age, where lies are sugar-coated as truth, we must ask: what becomes of truth itself? What is the cost of this distortion? Is truth now in a state of flux, where lies are normalised, and falsity gains credibility? And if so, what is the cost to our society, our democracy, and our future? In a time where truth is pliable, can we ever restore the trust and unity that once bound us?
The onus is on us—to demand ethical accountability and uphold the collective well-being of our society.
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