Challenging post-communication: Beyond focus on a ‘few bad apples’ to multi-level public communication reform

ABSTRACT Since declaration of post-truth as Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year in 2016, studies show that ‘fake news’, ‘alternative facts’, and disinformation have continued unabated – and even increased. Fingers have pointed at individuals such as Donald Trump and the activities of Russian ‘troll farms’. Also, global outrage has risen in relation to the deceptive and manipulative practices of organisations such as Cambridge Analytica and social media oligopolies, notably Facebook. However, transdisciplinary research challenges the ‘few bad apples’ argument and proposes that a wide range of culprits are responsible for what this study calls post-communication. Based on a review of reports related to public communication practices, and key informant interviews, this discussion proposes that reforms are required at three levels: top-down, such as updated regulation and legislation; bottom-up, including new approaches to media literacy; and increased attention to ethics and standards by professionals in advertising, marketing, public relations, government and political communication, and journalism.