Fake news at stake:

an epistemological discussion on the process of production and dissemination of (un)truths on social networks

Abstract

The use of social networks of the internet has increased exponentially since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. This growth has made them even more conducive to the massive release of fake news, becoming even a social and public health problem. In order to understand the modus operandi of fake news on social networks, this article aims to promote an epistemological discussion that seeks to understand the process of production and dissemination of (un)truths in these environments. To do so, one starts from the concepts of ‘truth’ and ‘regimes of truth’ (Foucault, 1979), by aligning them with the psychosocial and cultural notions of perception and imagination (Sartre, 1996; Kalantzis et al., 2020). Then, one seeks to revisit and expand the discussion on the concept of ‘multi-synopticon’ (Pinheiro, 2014), in an attempt to understand the technological e social complexity of social networks on the production and dissemination of fake news, which resizes broadcasting, narrowcasting e individual casting systems. Finally, one presents some considerations on the possibility of a critical education to deal with information circulating on social networks.