'Post-Truth' Named Oxford Dictionaries Word Of The Year 2016
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- "Post-Truth," is the word of the year for 2016, according to Oxford Dictionaries.
Oxford defines the term as "relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief."
Some Feel Twitter Suspending Alt-Right Accounts Not Enough
So, what led to the decision to anoint "post-truth," as the word of the year? Oxford Dictionaries cited two major occurrences as the basis for their decision, Brexit and the U.S. Presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Oxford cited "post-truth politics," as the term that led to the rise of the word of the year, saying that Brexit and the presidential election were examples of politics taking place more in the realm of appeals to what we feel than to the facts.
Nine other words made the shortlist this year along with "post-truth." They were alt-right, glass cliff, hygge, chatbot, adulting, brexiteer, woke, coulrophobia (fear of clowns) and Latinx.