Risk Communication in the Public Sphere – from Habermas to Post-Truth and Back?

There is hardly a day without the media reporting about fake-news, deep fakes, fact checks and the need for truth being recognizable in an era of (digital) mass communication. What has been introduced as alternative facts is not so alien to political communication in the public sphere and there is a long tradition of different imaginaries competing that includes mass manipulation from own or foreign governments. However, for risk studies the basis for critique of any belief system has been the facts capable of unmasking all kinds of claims by a reality check provided by scientific expertise. However, where authority of science has been regularly scrutinized against its own bias the public sphere is characterised by struggles about what can count as authoritative knowledge or “truth”. The “staging of risk” (Beck) is therefore in the centre of risk studies shaped by powerful social (economic, political etc.) forces.

This presentation argues that the social practices of staging and managing risky uncertainties comes with the institutionalisation of rituals of truth production rather than closed belief systems. While decisions have to be made under conditions of incomplete knowledge for modern societies it is the openness for critique, the possibility of doubt being articulated, and the ability of contradicting experiences and evidence being recognized, which is central for reasonably engaging with risky uncertainties. Therefore, Habermasian discourse ethics might be timelier than ever but requires some adjustment to the digitalising social world. The presentation will explore new (and old) rituals of truth and how these shape the perception and understanding of risky uncertainties.