Journalism in Fragmented Information Societies
Abstract
This research article examines the emergence of post-truth fatigue as a structural condition of contemporary information societies and analyzes its consequences for journalism, media trust, and the possibility of shared public reality. Moving beyond earlier frameworks centered on misinformation, disinformation, and polarization, the study argues that prolonged exposure to competing narratives, unresolved crises, and accelerated media cycles produces not merely skepticism, but a widespread exhaustion of interpretive capacity.
Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship in media studies, political communication, and sociology, the article conceptualizes post-truth fatigue as a systemic phenomenon shaped by narrative overload, identity-based trust, platform-driven acceleration, and chronic uncertainty. The analysis demonstrates how this condition undermines journalism’s traditional role as a mediator of common understanding and transforms media consumption into fragmented, audience-specific practices of meaning-making.
Particular attention is given to the declining social effectiveness of fact-checking and verification in environments where audiences increasingly withdraw from epistemic engagement. The article argues that analytical journalism retains critical significance under conditions of post-truth fatigue, not as a mechanism for restoring universal consensus, but as a form of epistemic mediation capable of preserving context, continuity, and long-term interpretive frameworks within fragmented public spheres.
Keywords:
post-truth fatigue; journalism; fragmented audiences; media trust; public sphere; analytical journalism; information societies
Author: Oleksandr Hryhoriev
ORCID: 0009-0002-3975-358X
Reviewers:
Myroslav Ivanovych Dochynets
ORCID: 0009-0007-2018-0132
Valerii Herlanets
ORCID: 0009-0001-6289-3241
DOI: pending
Full Text (PDF)
Post-Truth-Fatigue-and-the-Collapse-of-Shared-RealityReferences
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